Middle East Monitor / May 6, 2023
Israeli National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir on Friday slammed Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over his decision to hand over the bodies of three Palestinian martyrs to their families.
On Friday, Israeli occupation authorities returned the bodies of three Palestinian martyrs from the West Bank city of Nablus to their families, including a young boy, 53 days after killing them.
Ben-Gvir criticized Gallant’s decision as a: “Serious mistake that will have a high cost.”
Ben-Gvir wrote on Twitter: “This government is a right-wing government and the public did not give us a mandate to return the bodies of terrorists or to avoid bombing Gaza. It is still not too late to lead a powerful and offensive security policy.”
He added: “Otzma Yehudit will continue to be absent from the votes until the Israeli government changes direction and begins to uphold the policy for which it was elected.”
Gallant replied to Ben-Gvir: “The decision to hand over the bodies was recommended by the security services.”
The three Palestinian martyrs were identified as Udai Othman al-Shami, Jihad Mohammad al-Shami and the young boy, Mohammad Dabek.
