Congresswoman slammed for tweet about Israel holding Palestinian body

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Michigan Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib comes under fire for a tweet she posted about Israel not releasing the body of a Palestinian woman who allegedly attacked soldiers. Israeli and Palestinian sources reported conflicting information about the incident at the time.

On Saturday, Tlaib tweeted about Khuloud Afana’s efforts to recover his daughter’s body from the Israeli authorities. Tlaib said Elder Afana is struggling to be able to bury her daughter and begin her healing. Tlaib described the late Afana as a mother, loving daughter and successful doctoral student.

She was killed by the Israeli government last June. Israel will not return his body to his family, Tlaib said.

Israeli and Palestinian authorities have offered divergent accounts of Afanas’ death in June. The IDF said the woman tried to run over Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, then got out of the vehicle brandishing a knife before shooting her. The Palestinian Authority said she was shot dead by Israeli forces after using a road under construction for military purposes.

Tlaib did not mention the circumstances surrounding Afanas’ death, which led to criticism of his tweet by some Israelis and pro-Israel voices in the United States.

Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post covered the story on Monday, describing Afana as a woman who tried to kill soldiers.

Israel holds the bodies of Palestinians attacking Israelis and does not return them to families. The government decided to implement this controversial policy to pressure Hamas to release the remains of two Israeli soldiers from Gaza. Israel and Hamas have both been criticized by rights groups on this issue.

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