The logo of the Lebanese Red Cross (Twitter/@RedCrossLebanon)
BEIRUT — The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday transported through Naqoura's main gate the body of a Lebanese man who fled to Israel in 2000, the state-run National News Agency reported.
According to the NNA, the Lebanese Red Cross then transferred the body of Naif Abou Azzi, to Rmeish, a village in south Lebanon.
When the Israeli army withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000, approximately 6,000 South Lebanon Army members moved to Israel for refuge. The SLA was formed in 1976 defected Lebanese Army soldiers.
The SLA received support from Israel, notably during the June 1982 invasion of Lebanon as part of Operation Peace in Galilee. After Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000, many SLA fighters, fearing reprisal, opted for exile. Many settled in Israel.
In May, Nearly 200 people staged a protest in Abdeh, Akkar against the repatriation of the body of a former SLA militiaman who died in Israel.
Head of the Lebanese Red Cross, Georges Kettaneh, explained the process of repatriating remains from Israel to L'Orient-Le Jour.
"The procedure is clear. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is informed of the death. They notify the Lebanese General Security, who gives the go-ahead for the body to be repatriated," Kettaneh told L'Orient Today. "The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) then receives the body, which is entrusted to General Security, who in turn hands it over to the LRC."