BICOM

According to media reports, Israel will this week return the bodies of two Palestinian suicide bombers who struck more than 10 years ago.

In a move which is being conducted separately from the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israel is returning a number of bodies of suicide bombers and terrorists. Israel Radio reported yesterday that the remains of six terrorists have already been transferred to the PA.

In the latest transfer, set to take place this week, the remains of female suicide bomber Ayat al-Akhras are expected to be returned to her family near Bethlehem. Al-Akhras, an operative of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade which is affiliated with the Fatah faction, blew herself up at the entrance to a supermarket in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Kiryat Hayovel in March 2002, killing 17-year-old Rachel Levy and security guard Haim Smadar. Noticing her suspicious activity, Smadar had stopped al-Akhras as she attempted to enter the busy supermarket.

It is also expected that the body of Islamic Jihad terrorist Daoud Abu Sway will be returned. In December 2001, Abu Sway detonated explosives which were attached to his body at the entrance to the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. Three bystanders were wounded in the attack.

The return of the remains has been conducted with little fanfare and no official announcement by Israeli authorities. AP reports that Israel’s Defence Ministry decided on the handing over of bodies late last year. However, the decision has been criticised by Almagor, an Israeli non-profit organisation which represents the families of terror victims. It said that “Those who killed civilians should be treated like people who committed war crimes.”