On October 10, 2016,
HaMoked filed six petitions relating to the remains of Palestinians Israel has been holding since the second intifada. The petitions seek the return of the bodies to their families. HaMoked noted in the petitions that the authorities were stalling and that repeated requests it had made for information on the whereabouts of the remains and their return to their families have gone unanswered.
HaMoked argued that the state’s conduct constitutes a serious violation of respect for the dead, which is recognized in Israeli law as part of the constitutional right to human dignity, as well as a violation of the rights of the relatives who have been waiting to bring their loved ones to burial for more than two decades. Although in 2012,
Israel lifted a moratorium on returning the bodies of Palestinian fatalities to their families,
as recently revealed, the process leading their final burial is fraught with serious flaws and deficiencies, including “disappearing” graves and “missing” bodies.
