While the government has decided it would not return the bodies of slain terrorists, it has done just that; returning the body of the terrorist who carried out an attack against the Armon HaNatziv police station in November 2018. This was done to permit his family to bury him as they wished to do.

Three policemen were injured in the stabbing attack, when Rahman Abu Jamal entered the station and began stabbing persons. He was shot and died of his injuries in Shaare Zedek Hospital a few days later.

One of the reasons the government decided not to hand over the bodies, but simply burying them in an unmarked field is to prevent the funerals from becoming a venue for incitement and calls for additional acts of terrorism. This is exactly what took place at the funeral, which took place near Jerusalem’s Jabil Mukhaber neighborhood.

Once again, in contradiction to government policy, the cabinet decided that even in cases when a body is released for burial, conditions for that release would compel a private small funeral, to prevent the events that occurred as described above.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)