Mass Joint Funeral Held For 14 Palestinians In Hebron
By Ma’an News Agency
02 January, 2016
Maannews.com
HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Thousands of mourners flooded the streets of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron to attend the joint funeral of 14 Palestinians whose bodies were returned by Israel the night before.
The bodies were among 23 handed over by Israeli authorities on Friday night, in line with a decision made by Israeli officials to withhold the bodies of Palestinians killed while carrying out alleged attacks on Israelis.
The bodies were carried on the shoulders of their families to the al-Hussein Ibn Ali mosque in city center, where funeral prayers took place. Thousands collectively performed the prayer inside the adjacent al-Hussein football stadium and across city streets, locals told Ma’an.
The procession then marched through Ein Sarah street before reaching the al-Shuhahda (Martyrs) Cemetery, where the 14 were laid to rest.
Elderly participants present told Ma’an they had never before attended a funeral for such a large number of slain Palestinians.
The thousands of mourners attending the funeral shouted slogans as the bodies were carried through the streets, condemning Israel’s conditional releases of the bodies of Palestinians.
Israeli authorities began holding the bodies of Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks on Israeli military or civilians in October.
The practice has not been used with such frequency since the Second Intifada, according to rights group Hamoked, with the bodies of over 80 Palestinians held for various periods of time since the October decision.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Nov. 5 that bodies would be handed over conditionally, with Israeli authorities often demanding that the bodies be buried immediately following their handover and that funerals be limited in attendance.
While the decision to withhold bodies was initially made to prevent mass funerals that “incite” violence against Israel, Yaalon said on Nov. 5. that the policy was not effective in deterring future attacks.
The policy of withholding bodies has sparked outrage among Palestinian communities who view the measure as collective punishment and a violation of their ability to abide by religious tradition. Some families also fear the move could prevent autopsies from being carried out on their relative’s body.
Palestinian leadership has encouraged autopsies be carried out on all Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the event that the reports could be used to file cases against Israeli authorities at the International Criminal Court.
The bodies of the Hebron-area Palestinians returned Friday underwent autopsy following their handover, according to Hebron’s District Attorney.
They were among over 140 Palestinians to be killed since Oct. 1 by Israeli forces and settlers. The majority were killed while carrying out attacks, the circumstances of many of which are still disputed.
Twenty-one Israelis have been killed in individual Palestinian attacks during the same time period.