Rami Hamdallah
Rami HamdallahFlash 90

Rami Hamdallah, who heads the Palestinian Authority government in Ramallah, yesterday (Thursday) met in his office with the families of terrorists whose bodies are being held by Israel.

During the meeting, which was also attended by PA Minister for prisoner issues Issa Qaraqe, Hamdallah said that the Palestinian Authority will not allow Israel to use the bodies of "martyrs", - terrorists killed while perpetrating acts of terror - to be used by Israel for purposes of leverage against or pressure on the Palestinian leadership.

Hamdallah reiterated and emphasized that the matter of the bodies of "martyrs" is top priority for the Palestinian leadership, chief among them PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

He said that the Palestinian government will continue to do everything in its power to enlist international bodies to put pressure on Israel to return the bodies.

The Palestinian Authority, that claims responsibility for and control over the Gaza Strip - which is in reality controlled by Hamas - has never demanded that Hamas return the bodies of IDF soldiers to Israel. Neither does it demand that Hamas return the missing Israeli citizens held by the terror group.