Israeli authorities assess that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group is involved in an incident Wednesday morning in which a body of an Israeli man killed in a car crash was taken by paramedics rather than handed back to Israel. A renegade Fatah group claimed responsibility later for taking the body, with some family members of the deceased telling Army Radio that the man was taken off life support at the hospital before being snatched, essentially killing him in the process.
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The man, Tiran Fero, is an 18-year-old from the Druze town of Daliyal al-Karmel near Haifa. Early Wednesday morning, while riding with a friend near Jenin, both were critically injured. Fero was taken by Palestinian ambulance to a nearby hospital, but succumbed to his wounds, while the other passenger was taken to an Israeli checkpoint, where he was transferred to an Israeli hospital.
The body of Fero was then taken from the hospital by Palestinian armed men, apparently from the PIJ, which has a strong presence in the city. The Palestinian Red Crescent was told by armed gunmen that it would not be allowed to take the body to Israel, presumably because the terrorist group PIJ would like to hold on to the body as a bargaining chip.
Video: Rambam Medical Campus
The IDF said in a statement that it "expects the body to be returned to Israel as a humanitarian gesture, as required."
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Palestinian media reported on intense talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials to resolve the crisis, with increased presence of Palestinian troops near the local refugee camp, where the body might be held.
