Israel fears that the body of a Jew may have been mistakenly transferred to Hizbullah in the recent prisoner/hostage exchange deal - and Hizbullah is already making new demands.
It was just three weeks ago that Israel dug up the bodies of several dozen terrorists and other Arabs, in preparation for their transfer to Lebanon or Europe in the framework of the Tenenbaum exchange. Israel received abducted Israeli civilian Elchanan Tenenbaum, and the bodies of three killed soldiers, in exchange for over 400 terrorists and the bodies of several dozen others.
Shortly afterwards, the family of one of the Arabs - Muhammed Biru, a 70-year-old drug dealer who died in Israeli prison - complained that the body returned to them was not the one they were expecting, but rather that of "an elderly religious Jew." A few days later, the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute confirmed that it had identified Biru's body, and that it was in fact in Israeli hands. Israeli sources said, however, that the body that mistakenly arrived in Lebanon had long been unidentified and unclaimed, and was not necessarily that of a Jew. Hizbullah now demands the return of 30 other bodies, as well as Biru, in exchange for the one it received by mistake.
Blame for the error is already being freely apportioned, with most of it going to Abu Kabir and its head, Dr. Yehuda Hiss. It has been explained, however, that as the graves were marked only by a stick and a number, the rainy and muddy conditions at the time the bodies were removed may have caused the confusion.
It was just three weeks ago that Israel dug up the bodies of several dozen terrorists and other Arabs, in preparation for their transfer to Lebanon or Europe in the framework of the Tenenbaum exchange. Israel received abducted Israeli civilian Elchanan Tenenbaum, and the bodies of three killed soldiers, in exchange for over 400 terrorists and the bodies of several dozen others.
Shortly afterwards, the family of one of the Arabs - Muhammed Biru, a 70-year-old drug dealer who died in Israeli prison - complained that the body returned to them was not the one they were expecting, but rather that of "an elderly religious Jew." A few days later, the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute confirmed that it had identified Biru's body, and that it was in fact in Israeli hands. Israeli sources said, however, that the body that mistakenly arrived in Lebanon had long been unidentified and unclaimed, and was not necessarily that of a Jew. Hizbullah now demands the return of 30 other bodies, as well as Biru, in exchange for the one it received by mistake.
Blame for the error is already being freely apportioned, with most of it going to Abu Kabir and its head, Dr. Yehuda Hiss. It has been explained, however, that as the graves were marked only by a stick and a number, the rainy and muddy conditions at the time the bodies were removed may have caused the confusion.