Israeli forces on Sunday evening returned the bodies of two Palestinians to their families northwest of Jerusalem, Palestinian authorities told Ma'an. The bodies of Omar al-Faqeh and Muhammad Nathmi Shamasneh, both 23 years old, were returned at al-Jeeb checkpoint northwest of Jerusalem, where hundreds were waiting to receive them. The bodies were then taken to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. Their funerals are expected to take place on Monday, with the procession heading from the medical complex to the two Palestinians' hometown of Qutna northwest of Jerusalem, where they will be laid to rest. Omar al-Faqeh, 23, was shot dead by Israeli forces at Qalandiya checkpoint on Oct. 17 after he allegedly stabbed and injured an Israeli Border Police officer. Mohammad Nathmi Shamasneh, meanwhile, was killed on Oct. 13, after he allegedly carried out a stabbing attack on an Israeli bus in northwest Jerusalem, lightly wounding an Israeli soldier. Israel's security cabinet decided last month that the bodies of Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces after carrying out attacks on Israeli citizens would no longer be returned to their families. The decision -- one among a series of stringent security measures -- was an attempt to stem protests that frequently accompany the funerals of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. Israel has kept the bodies of the majority of Palestinians killed this month, although Israeli daily Haaretz recently reported that the cabinet now considers keeping the bodies "a burden and not an asset."
