Gallant decides 'Israel' will continue withholding Walid Daqqa's body

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
6 Jun 2024 20:28
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Israeli media says officials believe withholding Daqqa's body is significant to the file of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip.

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Image from the obituary announcing detainee Walid Daqqa's martyrdom on April 7, 2024 (Al-Qassam Brigades)

Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant decided Thursday that "Israel" will continue to withhold the body of Palestinian martyr detainee Walid Daqqa, Israeli media reported.

The media indicated that Gallant's decision was based on the positions of the Israeli occupation military chief of General Staff, Herzi Halevi, and the Major General responsible for the file of Israeli captives and missing soldiers, Nitzan Alon, who emphasized that withholding Daqqa's body is significant to the file of Israeli captives held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom pointed out that Gallant's decision contradicted the stance of the Israeli "National Security Council," which asserted that the importance of the bodies of dead captives in Gaza does not outweigh the significance of the living ones.

Palestinian Resistance factions had demanded Daqqa's release in previous prisoner exchange deals. Following a nearly four-decade-long struggle in Israeli occupation prisons, Walid Daqqa, 62, was martyred in April inside the Assaf Harofeh hospital due to the policy of medical neglect after a long struggle with illness.

Daqqa's family had informed Al Mayadeen that the decision to release the martyr's body lies in the hands of Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Israel Hayom cited an informed source as saying that martyr Daqqa's body has become an "Israeli treasure" in a possible prisoner exchange deal.

The Israeli Security Minister justified his refusal to hand over the martyr's body to his family by stressing that he believes Daqqa's case involves "exceptional circumstances."

The Israeli Supreme Court decided to hold hearings during the first half of June to consider a petition filed by Daqqa's family, demanding the Israeli authorities release his body.

The submitted petition underlined that both the Israeli prison administration and the Israeli occupation police are "unlawfully and unconstitutionally" delaying the release of Daqqa's body indefinitely, thereby violating the right to dignity of both the martyr and his family without any authority and contrary to the rule of law.

#Palestinian detainee Walid Daqqa was martyred inside Assaf Harofeh Hospital on Sunday, following a nearly four-decade-long struggle in Israeli occupation prisons.

Daqqa, a cancer-stricken prisoner who was subjected to immense horrors during his detainment, is yet another… pic.twitter.com/77mb99wvGU
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 8, 2024

Who is Walid Daqqa?

Daqqa was born in the town of Baqa al-Gharbiya, in northern occupied Palestinian '48 territories. He joined the ranks of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in 1983 and was assigned to a military cell of the front. Alongside his comrades in the PFLP, Daqqa conducted a series of operations against Israeli occupation forces and took captive Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam.

He was detained two years later and initially received a death sentence, which was later reduced to 37 years in prison. In 2018, the Israeli occupation added another two years to his sentence, on charges of smuggling phones to prisoners to help them communicate with their families.

A few years ago, his wife, Sanaa Salameh, was able to give birth to their daughter, Milad, after smuggling his sperm from prison. Upon discovering this, "Israel" imposed harsh penalties on Daqqa, admitting him to solitary confinement and restricting his visitation rights.

Daqqa is considered one of the most prominent writers and thinkers of the Palestinian Captive Movement. "Israel" punished him for his resistance, denying him access to proper medical care and early release despite his declining health.

His continued detention contradicted the 1993 Oslo Accords, which included a provision for the release of all Palestinian detainees held before the agreement was signed.

During his detention, Daqqa was denied the opportunity to bid farewell to his father before his passing or to visit his mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, a decade ago.

Despite being mentioned in four previous prisoner exchange deals, he was excluded from all of them. Additionally, he was unable to leave prison to meet his daughter, Milad, who used to accompany her mother to protests advocating for her father's release.

Daqqa endured acute pneumonia and renal failure, leading to surgery on April 12, 2023, during which a significant portion of his right lung was removed. Subsequently, he faced complications from the surgery, along with severe respiratory issues and infection.

Despite restrictions such as book bans, Daqqa attained bachelor’s and master’s degrees while in prison. Additionally, he authored novels, articles, and poems about the Palestinian Resistance against the Israeli occupation, which gained global recognition.