KUALA LUMPUR: Israeli Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman has called on the Egyptian authorities to not allow the body of Palestine engineer, Dr Fadi M R Albatsh, to be brought back to Gaza.
The Palestine News Network reported on Sunday that Lieberman had said he “sent a request in this regard by conventional methods”, adding that it would not be under Israeli control since the Rafah border crossing falls under Egyptian sovereignty.
He was quoted as saying that his government is implementing previous decisions not to transfer the bodies of martyrs from the Hamas movement to be burial in the Gaza strip.
According to the report, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett had also on Saturday vowed to prevent Hamas from bringing Fadi’s body back to Gaza for burial unless Hamas returns Israeli soldiers detained in Gaza.
It has been reported the bodies of two slain Israeli soldiers, Simcha Goldin and Oron Shaul, and two other live Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who entered Gaza of their own volition in 2014 and 2015, respectively, are currently being held by Hamas.
Fadi, 35, from the Jabalia town, north of Gaza, was assassinated in front of the Idaman Puteri condominium in Setapak, while heading for subuh prayers about 6am on Saturday.
It was reported that the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Malaysia has been coordinating with Malaysian and Egypt authorities to transfer Fadi’s body to Gaza upon the family’s request.