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Israel to use terrorist’s body in negotiations with Hamas

Abu Hamid, who participated in the notorious Ramallah lynch and planned and executed numerous deadly terror attacks against Israeli civilians, is beloved as a national hero by Palestinians.

By World Israel News Staff

The body of a convicted terrorist who died of cancer at a Tel Aviv-area hospital on Monday will not be returned to his family, in an effort by Israel to gain leverage over Hamas for the release of two Israelis and the bodies of two IDF soldiers held in the Gaza Strip for years.

Outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday morning that the decision not to return the body of Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade terrorist Nasser Abu Hamid, a mass murderer of Israeli civilians who was serving multiple life sentences, was approved by the security cabinet.

Notably, Abu Hamid was a member of a terror organization affiliated with the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party, a rival of the Hamas terror group.

Israel’s decision to condition the release of Abu Hamid’s body as a concession by Hamas could serve to increase tensions between the two terror organizations.

A participant in the notorious October 2000 Ramallah lynching, Abu Hamid was part of an angry mob that brutally murdered two IDF reservists who had accidentally driven into the PA-controlled city. Yossi Avrahami and Vadim Nurzhitz were beaten, stabbed, stomped on, shot, and eventually set on fire by locals.

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Abu Hamid, who also planned and executed numerous deadly terror attacks against Israeli civilians, is beloved as a national hero by Palestinians.

PA-controlled municipalities in Judea and Samaria saw shops shuttered and students released from school early after news of Abu Hamid’s death was made public.

Hamas will likely face enormous pressure from Palestinians to secure the release of Abu Hamid’s body.

Two mentally ill Israelis, who crossed into the Strip of their own accord, are currently being held as hostages by Hamas in the coastal enclave.

The captives’ families have told Hebrew-language media that they feel the Israeli government has not made enough of an effort to free them.

The bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who died in battle in the Strip during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge, have been held by Hamas for nearly a decade.