Body of assassinated Palestinian scholar arrives in Gaza for burial

CAIRO – 26 April 2018: The body of the assassinated Palestinian scholar, Fadi al-Batash, has arrived in Gaza for burial.

Relatives and Palestinian faction leaders have clustered in respect to greet the body of al-Batsh as it entered Gaza through the Egyptian border. The funeral is scheduled for Friday.

Al-Batash was ambushed and shot on Saturday morning by two unidentified motorcyclists in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, reported Palestinian news websites. The Palestinian scholar was killed while heading to the mosque to perform Morning Prayer.

The unidentified assailants waited about 20 minutes for Batash outside the mosque. They shot more than 10 bullets at Batash, who was left with bullet wounds in his head and upper body. The assailants then escaped the scene, as per Palestinian sources in Malaysia who quoted the police chief.

Batash’s family and Islamic Jihad senior leader, Khaled al-Batash accused Mossad of being behind the assassination, according to Palestinian news sources.

They demanded that the Malaysian authorities conduct a comprehensive and rapid investigation before the assassins flee the country.

Batash’s family said that he was supposed to fly from Malaysia to Turkey on Sunday for a science conference on energy. He was married with three kids.

Batash was a former resident of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, and was working in Malaysia over the past few years as a lecturer at a private university and was the imam of a mosque in the city, according to SPA news agency. He was also involved with Islamic organizations.