Hevron funeral after bodies of five terrorists returned
Hevron funeral after bodies of five terrorists returnedFlash 90

Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan is promoting a private bill that will allow the police to set conditions for holding funerals for terrorists and not hand over their bodies until the families of the terrorists meet their conditions. Minister Erdan is promoting the private bill led by MKs Barko and Smotrich.

This bill seeks to amend the legal situation in accordance with the High Court, which ruled that bodies must be handed over in various appeals. It anchors explicit authority n the Police Ordinance for the District Police Commander to determine whether, in his opinion, there is a reasonable suspicion that an act of terrorism will be committed, there will be harm to "psychological security", or support for terrorism displayed. In any of those cases, the body will not be transferred for burial.

During the governmental discussions between the Internal Security Ministry and the Justice Ministry to promote the bill, the Attorney General's objected to the wording requested by the Internal Security Ministry, according to which a reasonable suspicion of incitement is sufficient to prevent the delivery of the body.

Minister Erdan explained the move: "Terrorist funerals have become incitement rituals, causing people to go out afterwards and cause harm, as we saw in the mass terrorist funerals in Umm al-Fahm. My duties as Internal Security Minister are to prevent such funerals. Funerals for terrorists will only take place when they meet police conditions."

Public expressions of support, sympathy, incitement, and identification with terror attacks, with terrorists, the organization to which a terrorist murderer belonged, or the ideology in whose name he committed the terrorist act after terrorist attacks, has been increasing in recent years.

The glorification of the terrorist and the attack can be expressed by waving posters and making speeches expressing support for the attack or calling for the perpetration of additional terrorist acts. After the attack on the Temple Mount, in which two Border Police officers, Major General Eyal Sattawi and the late Commander Shamil were killed, the police set strict conditions for the family of terrorists from Umm al-Fahm as a condition for holding the funerals.

The Israeli Police have no authority to delay transfer of terrorist bodies for burial, and explicit authorization is required in the law to exercise such authority.

Over the past few years, Minister Erdan has worked to promote an aggressive line regarding terrorist funerals and instructed the police to set strict conditions for the funeral, in order to ensure that the burial ceremony does not turn into a campaign of incitement and identification with the acts committed by the terrorist.