Snatched body of Israeli car-crash victim returned to Israel

The Israeli military says the measure was made over humanitarian concerns.

Published on 11-24-2022 06:54

Last modified: 11-24-2022 10:31

The body of Tiran Ferro, a young Israeli from the Druze minority, was returned to Israel Thursday morning according to the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson's Unit.

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Ferro and another Israeli Druze, from an Arab-speaking minority notable for a history of service in Israel's security establishment, had crossed into the northern West Bank city of Jenin from Israel before being injured in a car accident.

Israeli authorities initially assessed that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group was involved in an incident Wednesday morning. A renegade Fatah group claimed responsibility later for taking the body, with some family members of the deceased told Army Radio that the man was taken off life support at the hospital before being snatched, essentially killing him in the process.

Ferro was 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. Ferro 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 Ferro was then taken from the hospital by Palestinian armed men,. The Palestinian Red Crescent was told by armed gunmen that it would not be allowed to take the body to Israel, presumably because the terrorists wanted to hold on to the body as a bargaining chip, but the crisis was resolved after intense mediation efforts overnight Wednesday.

Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid vowed on Wednesday that "the kidnappers would pay a heavy price". He sent his "deep-hearted condolences to the Ferro family and the entire Druze community on the tragic death of Tiran who was supposed to be celebrating his 18th birthday today. Returning his body to his family is the least we could do to bring comfort to their home. I thank everyone who acted in recent days to close this sad circle."

i24NEWS contributed to this report.

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