Israel returns 2 more terrorists’ bodies

Israel delivers the bodies of Omar Faqih, killed during an attempted stabbing attack at the Qalandia checkpoint, and Muhammad Shamasnah, who carried out an attack on the Egged bus line 185 in Jerusalem, to the Palestinian Authority.

Earlier in the day, the bodies of Raed Jaradat, 22, and Mahmoud Ghneimat, 20, were delivered by Israel to the Palestinian military and civil liaison department, the Ma’an News Agency reported.

Israel on Friday transferred to the West Bank the bodies of five Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks or attempted attacks on Israelis, as local residents gathered to mark the occasion. The Israeli cabinet had expressed its opposition to the move.

Palestinians gather in Hebron as PA security forces carry the bodies of two out of five Palestinians released by Israel on October 30, 2015. The five killed were killed while carrying out or trying to carry out stabbing attacks against Israelis. (AFP PHOTO / HAZEM BADER)

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 releasing 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.