Bodies of Palestinian Woman, Teenage boy Returned to their Families by Israel

only 45 mourners allowed to attend funrals of bodies returned by Israel (Photo: Al Jazeera)

Israeli forces on Monday night returned the bodies of a Palestinian woman and a teenage boy from occupied East Jerusalem to their families for burial, after withholding the bodies for months.

Israeli forces deployed heavily in the Um Tuba neighborhood of East Jerusalem before intelligence officers handed over the body of 51-year-old Fadwa Abu Teir to her family in front of the neighborhood’s mosque.

Abu Teir was shot and killed on March 8 in the Old City of Jerusalem after she allegedly attempted to stab Israeli officers.

“Her body was detained for seventy days, which was very hard on the family,” Abu Teir’s son Muhammad told Ma’an.

https://twitter.com/OccPalGaza/status/732512529667198976

After Abu Teir’s burial, Israeli forces returned the body of Muataz Ahmad Uweisat, a 16-year-old teenager from the neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabbir, to his family after midnight.

Uweisat was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on October 17 after allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli policeman in the illegal settlement of East Talpiot.

Abu Teir’s son confirmed that Israeli intelligence limited the number of people allowed to attend the funeral, and refused to allow mourners to chant “Allah Akbar” (God is great).

Lawyer Muhammad Mahmoud from Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer, said both Abu Teir and Uweisat’s families had to pay 20,000 shekels ($5241.50) before the bodies were released,

A joint statement released by Addameer and Israeli minority rights group Adalah in March condemned Israel’s practice of withholding bodies as “a severe violation of international humanitarian law as well as international human rights law, including violations of the right to dignity, freedom of religion, and the right to practice culture.”

(MA’AN, PC)

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