The High Court of Justice on Monday unanimously rejected a petition filed against Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the Political-Security Cabinet over their decision to hold the body of terrorist Walid Deka for the purpose of negotiations for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Judges Yitzhak Amit, Ofer Grosskopf, and Gila Kanafi-Steinitz ruled that the decision of the minister and the cabinet did not deviate from the limits of reasonableness and proportionality, and therefore there was no reason for the court’s intervention.
The ruling stated that this was a precedent case, as it was decided to maintain possession of Deka’s body even though he is an Israeli citizen. The court ruled that “the military commander has the authority to order the possession of the bodies of terrorists for the purpose of negotiations.”
The verdict also states that Deka had been adopted as a symbol by the terrorist organization Hamas, which gave added credence to the minister’s decision.
Back in September 2019, a seven-judge High Court panel for the first time reversed a 2017 ruling of a three-judge panel that the military commander did not have the authority to keep the bodies of terrorists for the purposes of negotiations and that if the state wanted to pursue this policy, it had to do it through legislation.
The petitioners in 2019 were members of the families of six terrorists whose bodies were held by the state: the terrorist who carried out the attack on the Promenade of the Governor’s Palace in which four soldiers were murdered and 18 others wounded; the terrorist who murdered the late Hillel Yaffe Ariel in Kiryat Arba; the terrorist who participated in the attack in which Rabbi Michael Mark was murdered in south Mount Hebron; the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack in Jerusalem in which Livna Malihi and the late police officer Yosef Karma were murdered; the terrorist who carried out the attack on the bus in Jerusalem in April 2016; and a terrorist who carried out an attempted attack in the Shechem area.
The 2019 panel, headed by then-President Esther Hayut, wrote in its decision: “One of the purposes for which the authority granted to the military commander is intended to be fulfilled is the protection of the security of the state. This protection means, among other things, a continued and determined pursuit to bring home the bodies of IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens who are held by terrorist organizations. Out of this purpose, a conclusion may be drawn that the military commander has the authority to order the temporary burial of the bodies of terrorists for the purpose of negotiations with the terrorist organizations.”
Attorney Yehuda Puah, chairman of the Betzalmo organization, who represented the family of the late Moshe Tamam who was murdered by Deka, stated: “We welcome the clear and self-evident decision. There is no doubt that it is the duty of the State of Israel to keep the body of the despicable terrorist until the release of all the hostages.”
The terrorist Deka died in the hospital from a malignant disease, after his condition became terminal. Deka was involved in the kidnapping and murder of Moshe Tamam in 1984 and was due to be released from prison next year. Deka was one of the veteran terrorists in Israeli prisons. His request for early release due to his terminal condition was rejected about ten months ago.
