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Palestinians return remains of dead soldiers to Israel
Gaza City, May 13: Two Palestinian officials and an Egyptian diplomat early today handed over the remains of six soldiers killed in Gaza City to Israel at the Erez border crossing, a senior Palestinian official told.
Gaza City, May 13: Two Palestinian officials and an Egyptian diplomat early today handed over the remains of six soldiers killed in Gaza City to Israel at the Erez border
crossing, a senior Palestinian official told.
"The Israeli side has received the box containing the remains of the soldiers' bodies," the official told on condition of anonymity.
There was no official confirmation from the Israeli side, with an army spokeswoman saying, "We will not be commenting on this issue".
Rashid Abu Shbak, the Gaza Strips head of preventive security and Ribhi Arafat, head of Gaza's district coordination office, travelled with the Egyptian official to the border crossing for the handover.
The exchange went ahead shortly after Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood after an intensive 48-hour raid.
Much of the operation, in which 16 Palestinians were killed, was spent combing the area for the remains of six soldiers killed there in a bomb attack early Tuesday claimed by the radical Islamic jihad.
In the wake of the blast, militants raided the wreckage and made off with body parts, prompting Israel to intensify the raid in a bid to locate the remains.
But an agreement was reached late yesterday under which Islamic jihad agreed to return the remains in return for an Israeli pullout from the area.
Bureau Report
There was no official confirmation from the Israeli side, with an army spokeswoman saying, "We will not be commenting on this issue".
Rashid Abu Shbak, the Gaza Strips head of preventive security and Ribhi Arafat, head of Gaza's district coordination office, travelled with the Egyptian official to the border crossing for the handover.
The exchange went ahead shortly after Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood after an intensive 48-hour raid.
Much of the operation, in which 16 Palestinians were killed, was spent combing the area for the remains of six soldiers killed there in a bomb attack early Tuesday claimed by the radical Islamic jihad.
In the wake of the blast, militants raided the wreckage and made off with body parts, prompting Israel to intensify the raid in a bid to locate the remains.
But an agreement was reached late yesterday under which Islamic jihad agreed to return the remains in return for an Israeli pullout from the area.
Bureau Report