Israel to return bodies of 9 more attackers to PA
Five terrorists’ bodies were returned Friday; thousands attended their funerals in Hebron where riots broke out
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleTamar Pileggi is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Israel pre-dawn Sunday is expected to return the bodies of nine Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks or attempted attacks on Israelis, Palestinian media reported on Saturday.
Hebron Governor Kamel Hmeid told the Palestinian news agency Ma’an that Israel would transfer the bodies to PA authorities at 1 a.m. at the Tarqumiya checkpoint west of the city.
The reported transfer comes on the heels of mass funerals held in Hebron on Saturday for five Palestinian attackers whose bodies were returned to the PA for burial a day earlier.
The funerals drew tens of thousands of local Palestinians who celebrated the “martyrs” with processions, a direct violation of Israel’s stipulation that the funerals be held quietly, Israel Radio reported.
As the funerals were taking place Saturday afternoon, riots erupted when protesters began hurling rocks at Israeli security forces near Hebron’s Ayush Square. Palestinian medical sources said Israeli return fire wounded 12 Palestinians.
Some were seen waving Palestinian flags and chanted “we will die but Palestine will live on” during the processions.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday said the decision to return the bodies was made by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and asserted the move did not go against the cabinet decision earlier in the week.
“Defense officials recommended to release several bodies with the understanding that holding them would serve to stir up the West Bank,” the statement said according to a report in the Maariv daily.
Earlier on Saturday, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman criticized the decision to return the bodies, calling the move appeasement.
“The return of the bodies in contravention of a cabinet decision is an unacceptable step aimed at appeasing terrorists, and is tantamount to a ransom payment for threats against Israel,” the former foreign minister said.
“Such a shameful surrender to Palestinian threats will not only fail to bring calm, but rather will merely lead to an increase in terror,” he added.
But a Palestinian official in Hebron said Friday that the return of some of the bodies was an Israeli step aimed at restoring calm in the city after a wave of daily violence, Ynet reported. The official said that the rest of the bodies would be handed over only if quiet returned to Hebron and no more attackers set out from the area.
The Times of Israel Community.