RAMALLAH: Israel yesterday handed over the remains of 91 Palestinians killed during anti-Israeli attacks, some of whom died more than 40 years ago, officials on both sides said.
The transfer began before dawn, when Israel formally gave the bodies to the Palestinians at a location near the West Bank city of Jericho, with 79 of them immediately transferred to Ramallah, and the other 12 sent to Gaza.
“At 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) today, we received the remains of 91 martyrs, 79 from the West Bank and 12 from Gaza who had been buried (by the Israelis) in an inhumane and unethical fashion in numbered graves in the Jordan Valley,” said Hussein Al-Sheikh, head of the Palestinian general committee for civil affairs.
“They will all be wrapped in a shroud and the Palestinian flag, they will be identified and have the last rites performed,” he said.
The remains of the 79 were transferred to the Muqataa headquarters of Palestinian president, where they would be honored with “an official ceremony and prayers for the dead,” Palestinian Prisoners Minister Issa Qaraqaa said.
The remaining 12 bodies were handed to Gaza’s Hamas rulers through the Kerem Shalom border crossing in the early afternoon.
As they were transported into the coastal territory, the dead were greeted by hundreds of people, senior Hamas officials and a guard of honor, who fired 21 shots into the air as a mark of respect. The bodies were then transferred to Shifa hospital in Gaza City from where they were to be taken to the city’s main mosque for funeral prayers before being buried.
FROM: AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
