Ramallah, May 6 (IANS) The Israeli army has handed over the bodies of three Palestinians who were killed by Israeli soldiers more than 50 days ago to the Palestinian side, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement.
In coordination with the Palestinian liaison office of security coordination with Israel, the Israeli army on Friday handed the bodies over to the Palestinian side at an Israeli army checkpoint near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement.
The Palestinian WAFA news agency identified the victims as Odai Shami, Jihad Shami, and Mohammad Dabik, who were killed by Israeli soldiers on March 12 while they were in a car close to the Israeli military checkpoint of Sarra near Nablus. Their bodies were taken away by the Israeli soldiers ever since.
According to statistics released by the Palestinian Authority in November last year, Israel is withholding the bodies of more than 110 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers since 2015, including 10 minors, eight prisoners, and three women.
The Palestinian Authority also said 256 Palestinians who have been killed in the conflicts with Israel since 1967 were buried at a cemetery in northern Israel.
In the past few months, the Israeli army has carried out daily raids on Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps, mainly in the northern West Bank. Israelis claim that they want to arrest Palestinian militants wanted by Israeli security forces.
According to official Palestinian figures, the tension between Israelis and the Palestinians has killed more than 100 Palestinians since January. Meanwhile, Israeli sources said that 19 Israelis were killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank.
–IANS
int/sha
