Human rights organizations urge EU to demand Israel return the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces

01/08/2016

Since October 2015, Israel has refused to return bodies of 13 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers, police, and settlers during what human rights groups have identified as extrajudicial killings.

A coalition of human rights organizations comprised of Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights, Al-Haq, and the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, sent letters on 27 July 2016 to European Union officials based in Occupied Palestinian Territories/Israel demanding that the Israeli government abide by international law and return the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces to their families:

Subject: Demand that the Israeli government abide by International Law and return the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces to their families

As a coalition of human rights organizations - comprised of Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights, Al-Haq, and the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem – we are writing to seek your urge attention and action to assist bereaved Palestinian families in returning the deceased bodies of their loved ones from Israel.

Since October 2015, Israel has illegally refused to return the bodies of 13 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers, police, and settlers during what human rights groups here and abroad have identified as Israeli extrajudicial killings of Palestinian civilians posing no immediate danger (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch). Families mourning their relatives’ sudden deaths have been double burdened by the inability to bury their bodies. One family has been waiting on their relatives’ body for over 284 days as the Israeli authorities keep the corpse in custody. Eight families have taken their cases to the Israeli High Court, and are collectively being represented by a legal team including members of our coalition. Although the High Court has previously ruled in favor of returning the dead bodies to their families (5 May 2016), the State of Israel continues to withhold them. The Israeli police have repeatedly failed to implement the High Court’s decision by claiming that returning the bodies could pose a security threat. The Israeli government has backed these claims, by issuing and reiterating a statement (first on July 4th and most recently on July 24th) against returning the bodies and instead considering the possibility of burying the bodies in Israel’s cemetery of numbers, where it has buried hundreds of unmarked and unreturned Palestinian bodies. The High Court has yet to take action against this illegal stance. On 25 July 2016, the Israeli High Court delivered its decision in response to a further petition on behalf of the families of the extra-judicially executed Palestinians whose bodies have been withheld by Israeli authorities. The Court's decision now requires the police and the Israeli government to explain the reason for suspending the return of the Palestinian deceased to their families by 15 August 2016.

This back-and-forth between the Israeli police, government, and the High Court clearly boils down to political intransigence rather than a concern for public security. In the meantime, Israel continues to delay its legal responsibility to return the deceased bodies.

One of the pretexts used by the Police to argue against returning the corpses came after the High Court ordered four bodies of the deceased to be released in May 2016. After the police executed this court order, they claimed that the families did not abide by the rules and conditions set for the release, which include:

No funerals are allowed;
Family members collecting the body have to be registered with the Israeli authorities to do so;
- Burial has to take place within one hour after release, in the middle of the night;
- No autopsy may be performed;
Families must pay a NIS 40,000 guarantee (EUR 9,500) to ensure that they abide by the conditions;
- With regard to the deceased from Jerusalem, the police will request the bodies to be buried outside the city.

Israel’s refusal to return the bodies of the Palestinians killed by its occupation forces—as well as its restrictions around doing so—clearly violate both International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL). According to IHRL, failing to return the bodies of the deceased is a violation, inter alia, of the right to dignity, freedom of religion, and the right to practice one’s culture. The right to religion has to be adhered to when it comes to funeral practice and rituals. Refusal to return the bodies of killed Palestinians violates the families’ religious rights. Lastly a funeral clearly falls within the category of cultural practice. Israel has to provide families with access to their relatives’ bodies and cannot restrict the Palestinian cultural practice of organizing funerals. In addition, IHL requires the presence of an Official Graves Registration Service for possible exhumation; and identification of the bodies in cases when the deceased are transported.

In addition to its representations before the Israeli High Court, in May 2016, the Israel further committed before the UN Committee Against Torture, during the state party review process, to initiate the return of the bodies for the purpose of burial, subject to various arrangements. In its concluding observations, the Committee urged Israel, “to take the measures necessary to return the bodies of the Palestinians that have not yet been returned to their relatives as soon as possible so they can be buried in accordance with their traditions and religious customs, and to avoid that similar situations are repeated in the future” (para. 43).

Therefore, the Coalition respectfully urges your government to: (1) take all steps possible to influence the Israeli government to return the deceased Palestinian bodies to their families; and (2) meet with the undersigned NGOs and the bereaved families awaiting the return of their kin, whose names are as follows:

Name	Age	Residence	Date of extra-judicial killing
1. Tha’er Abu Ghazaleh	19	Jeursalem	8/10/2015
2. Baha Elian	22	Jerusalem	13/10/2015
3. Abed Al-Mohsen Hussoneh	21	Jerusalem	14/12/2015
4. Mohammed Abu Khalaf	20	Jerusalem	19/2/2016
5. Abed Al-Malek Abu Kharoub	19	Jerusalem	9/3/2016
6. Mohammed Al-Kalote	21	Jerusalem	9/3/2016
7. Abed Al-Hamed Abu Srour	19	Aida Refugee Camp/ Bethlehem	18/4/2016
8. Ansar Harasheh	25	Tulkaram	3/6/2016
9. Majed Al-Khadoor	18	Bane Al-Neem Hebron	24/6/2016
10. Mohammed Tarayreh	17	Bane Al-Neem Hebron	30/6/2016
11. Wael Abu Saleh	45	Tulkaram	1/7/2016
12. Sarah Tarayreh	27	Bane Al-Neem Hebron	1/7/2016
13. Anwar Al-Salimeh	51	Al-Aroub Refuge Camp/Hebron	19/7/2016