Palestinians ‘confident’ Egypt will allow Hamas rocket expert’s body into Gaza
Fadi al-Batsh’s family says body to be flown back for burial and enter Strip Wednesday at 2 p.m., despite Israel asking Cairo to refuse
The body of a Hamas rocket and drone expert gunned down in Malaysia on Saturday will be flown to the Gaza Strip through Egypt within 24 hours, according to the Palestinian envoy to the Asian country.
Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh’s family said the body would be flown to Egypt and enter the Palestinian enclave Wednesday at 2 p.m. through the Rafah crossing. His wife and three children would also be granted access, according to the claim.
Anwar al-Agha on Tuesday expressed confidence that Egyptian authorities would approve the request, even though Israel has publicly requested that Cairo not allow Batsh’s body to be returned to the Strip for burial.
Batsh, 35, was killed in a drive-by shooting on Saturday in the country’s capital, according to Malaysian authorities. His family and the Hamas terror group have blamed the hit on Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
“I’ve started (Monday) communicating with different parties in Egypt through the Egypt embassy in Kuala Lumpur, as well as through our Palestine embassy in Cairo,” the Palestinian ambassador told Malaysian news outlet Bernama. “They told me that they are in the midst of the process and I am sure they are certain of the procedures and regulations involved.”
On Sunday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman had said Israel was asking the Egyptian government not to allow Batsh’s body to be returned to his family in the Gaza Strip until Hamas returns to Israel the bodies of two IDF soldiers, as well as two mentally ill Israeli citizens, it is holding in the enclave.
The bodies of the two soldiers — Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul — are currently being held by Hamas, along with two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who entered Gaza of their own volition in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Liberman noted that while Israel did not allow bodies to pass through its own checkpoints, it could not prevent Egypt from allowing the body to be brought through the Egyptian-Gazan border crossing at Rafah.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Saturday also vowed to prevent Hamas from bringing Batsh’s body to burial in Gaza.
“Egypt has its own sovereignty,” said Agha. “Today or tomorrow we’ll get the approval and the clearance to bring the body to Palestine. We are quite sure they will give the approval, but it’s only a matter of time… we really need to wait.”
Malaysian police on Monday issued facial composites of two suspects in the shooting of a Hamas rocket and drone expert gunned down over the weekend, in what the Palestinian terror group says was an assassination by Israel.
Royal Malaysia Police Inspector-General Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said Sunday the suspects were male, around 1.80 meters tall, well-built, had fair complexions, and were believed to be of Middle Eastern or Western descent.
Harun said the composite images were based on eyewitness descriptions.
The Palestinian envoy said he trusts Malaysian authorities in investigating the killing, calling them “very professional.”
“We have full confidence in them and are ready to give our full commitment,” he said. “Our embassy officer is also in contact with the Malaysian authorities involved and has been getting updated about the investigation.”
Harun said 14 bullets were recovered from the body of the victim after an autopsy and had been sent for forensic examination.
He noted that no threat had been made against Batsh’s family.
Hamas on Saturday threatened retaliation against Israel for the killing of Batsh, an electrical engineer it said was a commander in its military wing. Israeli reports said the dead man was an expert on attack drones and rocket systems.
Batsh was walking from his high-rise apartment to dawn prayers at a local mosque in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Gombak when he was shot by two gunmen riding motorcycles, officials have said. Police said closed-circuit television footage showed the suspects had waited for him for almost 20 minutes.
Later Saturday the armed wing of Hamas opened a mourning tent in Gaza for Batsh. A main banner at the entrance to the tent described Batsh as a member of the terror group’s military wing and “a commander.”
At the mourning tent Hamas’s leader Ismail Haniyeh vowed revenge, saying that Mossad “is not far from this disgraceful, terrible crime. There will be an unsettled account between us and it. We cannot forfeit the blood of our sons, youths, and scholars.”
Hamas said Batsh was a “loyal” member and a “scientist of Palestine’s youth scholars.” It said he had made “important contributions” and participated in international forums in the field of energy.
Hebrew media reports said Batsh was deeply involved in Hamas’s efforts to improve the accuracy of its rockets and to develop drones. The Gaza-born scientist had reportedly published material recently on drone development, and on transmitters for controlling drones.
In a statement from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the victim’s family said, “We accuse the Mossad of being behind the assassination.” Batsh left behind a wife and three young children. He had lived in Malaysia for the past 10 years.
Hadashot TV news said Hamas has sent numerous young Gazans for technical training in Malaysia. The country has proved a “paradise” for Hamas in recent years, Channel 10 news reported.
The Mossad has been accused in the past of eliminating those who supply Palestinian and Lebanese terror groups with advanced technology, as well as having assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists.
The most high-profile case was the death of Hassan Lakkis, who was the head of Hezbollah’s weapons research and development. He was shot and killed south of Beirut in 2013. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel, but Jerusalem denied any involvement.
In Dubai, in 2010, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a key Hamas missile purchaser and importer, was assassinated in his hotel room in a killing widely attributed to Mossad.
Hamas also accused Mossad of assassinating one of its drone experts, Mohamed Zouari, in Tunisia in 2016.
The Times of Israel Community.