Israeli police are reportedly refusing to release the body of a Palestinian activist who was allegedly shot dead by an Israeli settler earlier this week, demanding his family commit to a series of conditions before doing so.
Awdah Hathaleen’s body was initially held by Israeli authorities so that they could perform an autopsy amid the ongoing investigation into his killing in the southern West Bank on Monday.
But the autopsy was completed at noon on Wednesday, and the Israel Police have yet to return Hathaleen’s body to his family in the village of Umm al-Kheir, Haaretz reports.
Police have told the family that they will release the body only if it agrees to a series of conditions, including not to erect a mourning tent near the family home and capping Hathaleen’s funeral at 15 people.
The IDF has issued a closed military zone order covering the entire village of Umm al-Kheir, claiming that the directive is to maintain public order. Locals say the army is punishing them and preventing the family from receiving condolence visits.
Hathaleen’s family is refusing to agree to the IDF’s conditions for releasing his body, Haaretz says.
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