The remains of 36 Palestinians buried in Israel in unmarked graves will be returned to the Palestinian Authority on Sunday, according to a report by the Maan Palestinian news agency.The report cited Salim Khillah, a spokesman for a committee to retrieve Palestinian remains from Israeli custody, saying Israel was returning the remains as a gesture to the Palestinians to continue with the current round of peace talks.Despite Khillah’s claim that the move was an Israeli gesture of goodwill, a spokesman for the Israeli NGO Hamoked – The Center for the Defense of the Individual told Ma’an the delivery of the remains was a result of a petition the NGO filed to the Supreme Court.
Khalil said the remains of one of the deceased, Majdi Abd al-Jawad Khanfar, will be returned on Sunday at 8 p.m. to the Taibeh checkpoint, to be followed by a military funeral in his West Bank village. According to the report, al-Jawad Khanfar was killed in 2002 after he and another member of Fatah’s military wing attacked and killed an Israeli soldier at a West Bank checkpoint.Report: Israel to return remains of dozens of Palestinians to PA
Palestinian official claims move is Israeli gesture to the Palestinian Authority to continue with peace talks.
