PA prime minister vows to pay terrorists to the bitter end

“[PA Prime Minister Muhammad] Shtayyeh began his visit to the Jenin district with a visit to the relatives of the Martyrs and the prisoners at the conference hall in the Jenin district. In his speech he emphasized that he came to hear their demands, and not to speak. He said: ‘In the presence of the relatives of the Martyrs and the prisoners, the right to speak remains theirs.’

Shtayyeh emphasized the Palestinian [PA] leadership’s position on the allowances of the Martyrs and prisoners, and said: ‘We emphasize the position of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas – even if just one penny remains in our treasury, it will be for the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners.’

During the meeting, he noted that the leadership has established a committee led by [PA] Minister of Justice [Muhammad Shalaldeh], whose main goal is to work to return the bodies of the Martyrs that are being held by the occupation, whether in [morgue] refrigerators or in cemeteries. He emphasized that the occupation is the only one in the world and in history that holds the bodies of Martyrs.”

Bodies of dead terrorists - In certain instances, Israel does not release the bodies of dead terrorists for burial by their families. There are three main reasons for this practice: First, the measure is seen as a deterrent since the fear of not receiving a proper burial as a “Martyr” or of leaving suffering parents behind may discourage potential terrorists. Second, since 2014 the Hamas terror organization has refused to release the bodies of 2 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, and it is also holding 2 Israeli civilians who strayed into Gaza in captivity - the bodies of the terrorists are thus held to facilitate negotiations for their return to Israel. Third, in some instances the bodies of terrorists are not released in order to prevent disturbances of the peace and incitement during the funerals.