RAMALLAH, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Israeli occupation forces on Thursday handed over the body of slain Palestinian child Salim Sami Salim Fuqaha to his family, nearly five months after withholding it.
The Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs said its teams received Fuqaha’s body, from the town of Sinjil north of Ramallah, at the Ein Sinya checkpoint.
The authority said it is continuing efforts to recover the bodies of slain Palestinians withheld by Israeli authorities and to follow up on the file with the relevant parties.
Fuqaha’s body was transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to complete the necessary medical procedures ahead of his burial in his hometown of Sinjil later Thursday.
Salim Fuqaha was killed by Israeli forces on March 17, 2026, on the outskirts of Sinjil. Another teenager who was with him was wounded, before Israeli forces withheld Fuqaha’s body.
Israeli authorities continue to hold the bodies of 798 slain Palestinians, including children, prisoners and victims from the Gaza Strip, with the identities or circumstances of detention of some bodies still undisclosed.
The withholding of slain Palestinians’ bodies is a long-standing Israeli policy that denies families the right to bury and bid farewell to their loved ones according to their customs and traditions, leaving them waiting for the bodies to be returned and handed over.
