TEL AVIV, Israel - The father of one of three slain Israeli teens paid tribute to his son's bravery amid a nationwide outpouring of grief on Tuesday. "Gilad, you are the son I always prayed for," said Ophir Shaar, father of 16-year-old Gilad at a memorial service in Talmon, a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. "What a brave person you are. My dear Gilad, I miss you, I believe that generations to come will grow up in your light," he said standing next to his wife, his voice breaking.
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Gilad Shaar went missing along with American-Israeli Naftali Fraenkel, 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, as they hitchhiked home on June 12. Their bodies were found on Monday in a shallow grave in a West Bank village on the outskirts of Hebron. The three were to be buried next to each other later Tuesday during a joint funeral attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres.
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