Israel tells court it's holding Palestinian prisoner's body as bargaining chip for Hamas deal
Walid Daqqa, who was convicted of involvement in the 1986 kidnapping and murder of an IDF soldier, died in April. The state admitted the decision marked a policy shift of not withholding the return of the bodies of Israeli civilian terrorists for bargaining
Israel's security cabinet approved the decision not to return the body of deceased Palestinian security prisoner Walid Daqqa to his family, instead intending to use it as a bargaining chip in a future hostage-prisoner release deal with Hamas. The state conveyed this to the High Court of Justice on Tuesday, in response to a petition filed by the Adalah human rights organization on behalf of Daqqa's family.
