The Jordan Armed Forces- Arab Army (JAF) on Monday held a funeral for a martyr, who fell during the Arab Army’s battles in defence of Jerusalem in 1967 and whose remains were unearthed last week.
The unidentified soldier, whose body was found at Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill near Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, was laid to rest at the Yusufiya Cemetery with full military honours attended by Assistant Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Administration and Manpower, Brig. Gen. Ali Al-Doumi, and a number of government officials and local people.
The casket, draped with the Jordanian flag and flanked by an honour guard, was carried on the shoulders of army officers as the funeral proceeded through Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem’s Old Walled City to the burial site inside the Al Aqsa Mosque Compound.
The honor guard lined up in salute as an armed forces band played sombre tunes, after which mourners performed funeral prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque.
JAF General Command announced earlier that it was following up, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, on a process to determine the identity of the martyr through a genetic DNA test, but it was not possible to match it with any of the family members who lost dear ones in that battle.
Tombs and graves of JAF martyrs who fell in battles on the soil of Palestine are located in numerous parts of the West Bank, and the army command has worked to renovate and document them.
Source: Jordan News Agency