Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman warned Sunday that the body of Hamas rocket and drone expert Dr. Fadi al-Batsch will not be allowed to reach Gaza from Malaysia via Israel.
The Malaysian authorities are currently conducting an autopsy on the body following the assassination that killed the senior terrorist Saturday morning.
Hamas officials are on their way to the Malaysian capital to assist in the investigation into the assassination, which they blame on Israel’s international Mossad intelligence agency.
“They are always blaming us for these things,” Liberman said in an interview with Galei Tzahal Army Radio on Sunday. “With the same accuracy rate of their claims, it would be possible to also blame James Bond.
“We don’t need to comment on every remark made by [Hamas political leader Ismail] Haniyeh. We’re focusing on what’s happening along our borders,” Liberman said.
“We don’t allow the bodies of Hamas terrorists to enter the Gaza Strip,” he replied, when asked about the body of al-Batsch being returned to his home community of Jabalya for burial.
“We won’t allow the transfer of the ‘engineer’s’ body from Malaysia to Gaza for a burial. But if they try to transfer it through Egypt and the Rafah Crossing, then we won’t have any control over the matter even though last night we made our position clear through the proper channels.”
The family of fallen IDF soldier Hadar Goldin – whose body has been held by Hamas in Gaza since the 2014 summer war – has demanded that Israel block the terrorist’s body from reaching the enclave until the body of their son is returned.
The body of fallen IDF soldier Oron Shaul is also still being held by Hamas in Gaza since the war, and three living hostages are also being held.