Israel decided on Wednesday to withhold the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, in a move slammed by rights groups as “barbaric”.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz welcomed the cabinet’s decision, which he said was part of a broader campaign of “deterrence”.
Israeli cabinet declares: We won’t return bodies of any #Palestinians to their families for burial; @AdalahEnglish responds: @Israel’s extreme, barbaric policy is illegal and motivated by vengeance https://t.co/3Qj0skvRmH
— Adalah (@AdalahEnglish) September 2, 2020
“Not returning terrorist bodies is part of our commitment to the safety of Israeli citizens, and of course to returning the boys home,” Gantz said, referring to the remains of two Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza following a 2014 Israeli war against the besieged enclave, which killed over 2,000 Palestinians.
Rights group Adalah called Israel’s decision “extreme, barbaric” and “illegal”.
“The policy of using human bodies as bargaining chips violates the most basic universal values and international law which prohibit cruel and inhuman treatment,” they said in a statement.
(Palestine Chronicle, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Social Media)
