HAIFA, April 3, 2018 (WAFA) - By taking bodies of two Palestinian men killed on Friday at the Gaza border, the Israeli military is exploiting the dignity of the deceased and their families for political ends, two human rights groups said on Monday, demanding Israel return the bodies of two dead Gazans.

The two men were killed by Israeli military gunfire during the protest demonstrations at the Gaza border, during which Israeli snipers shot and killed 16 Palestinian civilians, and their bodies were subsequently taken from inside the Gaza Strip by Israeli troops and kept to swap them in future deals with Hamas, the de facto power in Gaza.

The Haifa-based Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights and the Gaza-based al Mezan Center for Human Rights sent an urgent letter on Sunday to senior Israeli officials demanding they order the immediate return of the bodies of the two Palestinian residents of Gaza to their families for burial.

Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara, in her letter to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and Chief Military Advocate General (MAG) Sharon Afek, wrote: “The taking and holding of these bodies is a blatant violation of the right to dignity of both the deceased and their families. This right is anchored in international humanitarian law, in international human rights law, and in Israeli [Supreme] Court rulings. The right of every individual to a respectable burial without any undo delays is an integral part of the right to dignity, which is granted not just to the living but also to the deceased. The right of the deceased and of his or her family to dignity is recognized by the court and is anchored in Israel’s Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.”

Al Mezan and Adalah also stressed that the holding of bodies contradicts not only the principles of international human rights law but also the principles of international humanitarian law (IHL). Within the context of occupation and therefore given the applicability of IHL, the bodies of individuals killed must be returned to their families for burial with dignity. IHL prohibits using bodies for political purposes or as bargaining chips.

The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that the state has no authority to take and hold bodies, regardless of the affiliation of the deceased individual or the circumstances under which he or she was killed.

Israel is holding dozens of bodies of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank killed by its troops either for future political bargaining or as punishment for their families. Some remains have been held for decades in what is  known as ‘numbered cemeteries.”

M.K.