Hamas buries rocket and drone expert slain in Malaysia
At Gaza funeral, Palestinian terror group leader Haniyeh vows to ‘sever the hand’ that assassinated Fadi al-Batsh
Thousands of Palestinians joined a mass funeral on Thursday for a Hamas rocket and drone expert who was gunned down in Malaysia last week.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh led the funeral prayers at a mosque in Jabaliya, the town in northern Gaza where Batsh grew up.
“The hand that assassinated the scientist will be severed,” he said, and the crowd responded with chants of “God is great.”
Batsh’s body was brought to Gaza after crossing the Egyptian border earlier on Thursday, after Malaysia and Egypt arranged the return.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman had urged Egypt to reject the request to help repatriate the body and put pressure on Hamas to return two captive Israeli civilians and the remains of two Israeli soldiers the terror group is believed to be holding.
Haniyeh thanked Malaysia and Egypt for allowing Batsh’s repatriation “against the will of” Liberman.
Batsh, an electrical engineering lecturer in Malaysia, was killed Saturday by two assailants on a motorcycle as he was walking to a mosque in Kuala Lumpur.
Hamas, which seeks to destroy Israel, identified him as a commander in its military wing and quickly accused Israel’s Mossad spy agency of being behind the hit. Israeli media reported that Batsh was a key player in a military drone program being developed by Hamas.
Israel has a long history of assassinating wanted terrorists, though it rarely acknowledges responsibility. In a published interview on Thursday, Liberman insisted Israel did not do it.
“We did not assassinate him,” Liberman told the Arabic news site Elaph. “Ask James Bond,” he added. “Maybe James Bond killed him like in the movies.”
Family members, Hamas leaders and other Palestinian dignitaries greeted the body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, when it arrived at the Rafah border terminal.
“You are returning back to us… paving the way for our return to Palestine,” said Khalil al-Hayya, a top Hamas leader, at a small ceremony.
“To the occupation, we say the debt to us has become heavy,” he said. “The day of punishment is coming.”
Tensions around the Gaza Strip have soared recently due to Hamas-organized mass protests along the Israeli border.
Earlier on Thursday in Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians took part in the funeral of a Gaza journalist who died after being shot by Israeli troops while covering a protest on April 13. Ahmed Abu Hussein, 24, died from his wounds on Wednesday at an Israeli hospital, where he had been transferred.
Amateur video taken at the time shows him wearing a blue vest and helmet with the word “TV” on it. He appeared to be standing far from the Israeli border in a group of bystanders when he was shot.
In a statement Thursday, the Israeli military said “the circumstances regarding the injury of Ahmed Abu Hussein will be examined.”
During the weekly demonstrations so far, 35 protesters, including two journalists, have been killed by Israeli live fire, according to Hamas figures.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 21 of those wounded by Israeli fire in the protests have since had to undergo amputations due to their wounds. It said 17 lost legs and four lost fingers or parts of their upper limbs.
Rights groups, the United Nations and the European Union have all criticized Israel’s use of live fire against unarmed protesters.
Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using the demonstrations as cover to plan and carry out attacks.
Hamas acknowledged that five of its terrorists were among the fatalities after the first Friday demonstration, but has since refrained from acknowledging whether its men are among the dead. Israel has identified other fatalities as members of terrorist groups.
The Israeli army says it mainly uses less-lethal means, as well as pinpoint fire against chief instigators. It says its sharpshooters target only those who attack IDF soldiers with stones and Molotov cocktails, actively try to damage the security fence, or attempt to place improvised explosive devices along the security fence that could later be used in attacks against Israeli patrols.
