On November 18, 2014, two residents of Jabel al-Mukabber perpetrated an attack at a synagogue at the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem. Four worshippers and one police officer were killed in the attack and seven others were injured. The assailants were shot and killed by security forces.
As days went by and the bodies of the assailants were not returned to their families, one of the families petitioned the court. During the hearing, the legal advisor for the police said that the State was considering not returning the bodies. A police representative said that returning the body and the funeral that would follow might “glorify the terrorist’s name and make him a role model for others”. He added that the decision not to turn the body over to the family “might serve as a deterrent that would reduce the motivation to perpetrate attacks of this kind”.
It should be noted that in the other attacks recently committed in the city, prior to the Har Nof attack, the State returned the bodies to the families but imposed various restrictions with respect to the funerals: The funerals were to be held at dawn or late at night, with a small number of participants, usually immediate relatives only.
HaMoked
has spent years battling the degrading, disrespectful and outrageous manner in which Israel treats the remains of Palestinians who were killed during violent actions against Israeli soldiers and civilians. In its responses to HCJ petitions filed by HaMoked on this issue, the state often argued that it was withholding bodies so they may be used for future prisoner exchange deals. This type of argument highlights Israel’s cynical use of human remains and the families’ pain. The victims of this policy are the relatives of the deceased, who are not implicated in any action against the State.
HaMoked calls on Israel to stop harming the innocent and immediately return the bodies of the assailants to their families so that they may bury them.
