Israel preparing to hand over to Jordan remains of fallen soldiers

AMMAN — Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs has announced the suspension of excavations in Sur Baher area in Jerusalem after finding the remains of three Jordanian soldiers in the site of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported Wednesday. 

The ministry was quoted as saying that the Israeli side “respects Jordan and the soldiers who died in the line of duty”, noting that contacts have been made to move the remains of the three fallen men to bury them in the Kingdom.

If the remains were damaged during the excavation, the ministry said, it was not intentional, adding that the works stopped immediately in the area to allow the exhumation. After that the remains were referred to a forensic institute in Abu Kabir area to take the formal procedures. 

The Foreign Ministry last week said it was following up with the Israeli foreign ministry on the issue of newly discovered remains of three Jordanian soldiers in Jerusalem.

Ministry Spokesperson Sabah Al Rafie said then that Israeli authorities informed Jordan they had found the remains that seem to belong to Jordanian soldiers who died in the 1967 war, noting that there were also some belongings of the fallen soldiers.

There was a Jordanian military checkpoint in the area at the time of the war and the Foreign Ministry at the time was in contact with the military over the issue.

In December 2016, His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, attended a military ceremony that took place at the Martyr’s Memorial to bury the remains of a fallen soldier who died in Jerusalem battles the same year.