Avigfor Liberman
Avigfor LibermanYonatan Sindal

Israel will hold the bodies of terrorists from Hamas, but will return the bodies of other terrorists to their families, Haaretz reported Friday morning.

According to the report, the new policy comes after a disagreement between Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Major General Nitzan Alon regarding the issue of returning the bodies of terrorists. Liberman expressed complete opposition to the return of the bodies of terrorists and said that holding the bodies establishes a deterrent against future terrorist attacks.

Gen. Alon disagreed and argued that holding the bodies only increases tension with the Arabs in the PA and Gaza. He said that it does not deter terrorist attacks, but instead encourages them,

The dispute occurred at a security cabinet meeting Wednesday. Israel is currently in possession of five terrorists who were killed while carrying out attacks against Israelis. The court required the state to explain why it was still holding the bodies after a petition by the families of the terrorists to have the bodies returned.

A compromise was reached where it was decided to return the bodies of the three terrorists who were not affiliated with Hamas while continuing to hold the bodies of those that were.