Body of Martyr Manasra is “frozen” and the family refuses to receive it…32 people participate in the funeral of Martyr Iskafi
The family of Martyr Hasan Manasra refused to receive their son’s body because it was frozen while 32 people from Iskafi family participated in the funeral of Martyr Omar Iskafi after Monday midnight.
The occupation authorities had decided to release the bodies of 15-year old Martyr Hasan Manasra and 21-year old Omar Yaser Iskafi to bury them in Lions’ Gate Cemetery in Jerusalem; they are residents of the neighborhood of Beit Hanina north of Jerusalem. The occupation forces closed the area of the cemetery from all directions and prevented vehicles and locals from passing in the streets; they also conducted a search operation inside the cemetery before the releasing of the bodies.
Lawyer Mohammad Mahmoud
Al-Dameer organization lawyer, Mohammad Mahmoud, who follows-up with the detained Martyrs ’bodies’ case, explained that Manasra family refused to receive their son’s body because it was frozen while Iskafi family received their son’s body since it was acceptable for the burring procedures.
The lawyer added that the Israeli authorities did not commit to the releasing conditions which state that Martyr’s bodies shall not be released while still frozen. He said: “The Israeli authorities have to take the bodies outside the freezers well in advance before the releasing process but it looks like Manasra’s body wasn’t taken out in the right time.”
He pointed out that the Israeli Supreme Court obligated the public prosecution to respond to the appeal they received to set a time to release the bodies of Jerusalemite Martyrs as the occupation is still detaining 12 bodies of Martyrs from Jabal Al-Mukabber, Old City of Jerusalem, Kufor Aqab, Beit Hanina, Um Tuba and Esawyeh.
Marty Hasan Manasra’s uncle
Ahmad Manasra, Martyr’s uncle, said that 40 family members entered the cemetery after a precise search process. When the Martyr’s father along with three family members went to identify their son’s body, they found it as a “block of ice” and immediately refused to receive it.
Manasra confirmed that the occupation did not commit to the releasing conditions despite the family’s approval to bury their son at night in the presence of a limited number of people. He said: “How can you bury him and carry out the funeral procedures when he’s a block of ice?”
Manasra added that the family agreed to bury him at night and to only have a limited number of people participating in the funeral but definitely refuse to receive their son’s body as a block of ice.
Martyr Omar Iskafi’s uncle
The uncle of Martyr Omar Iskafi said that his nephew was still bleeding from his head when they received him despite being in the occupation’s freezers for 116 days. He said the body was in a condition suitable for the burying procedures.
Occupation forces were deployed inside Lions’ Gate Cemetery during the funeral and the forces made sure to be present in the path of the funeral and near the Martyr’s grave.
Provocative searching procedures for the families
All family members including the elderly, and even children participating in the funeral as well as lawyer Tarek Barghouth from the Ministry of Prisoners were subject to body-searching before entering the cemetery. The occupation also prevented all participants and lawyers Mahmoud and Barghouth from having their cell phones inside the cemetery.
It is noteworthy that the occupation Intelligence had received a list including the names of people participating in the funeral and anyone not listed in the list was not allowed to enter the cemetery.
