After eight years of advocacy led by the Biladeihem Association, a law supporting the families of missing persons moved another step closer to final approval this week as discussions resumed in the Knesset National Security Committee headed by MK Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit).
The legislation, which already passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum, returned to committee deliberations to finalize the wording of the bill and allow government ministries to submit reservations and proposed amendments before the measure advances to its second and third readings.
Committee members agreed that the proposals raised during Thursday’s session will be incorporated into an updated version of the legislation. The revised bill is expected to be voted on next week in the National Security Committee before being brought back to the Knesset for final approval.
Among those participating in the discussion was Yekutiel Ben Yaakov, director of the Israel Dog Unit, who welcomed the progress of the legislation. The IDU
“I congratulate the committee and its chairman Zvika Fogel for finally moving forward to provide a response to the families of the missing and to regulate the status of civilian missing persons in Israeli law," Ben Yaakov said.
He added that further reforms are still needed regarding search operations during the critical early stages of disappearances.
“I hope that in the future we will also be able to regulate the issue of searches - especially in the first days of the disappearance," he said. “Then, with the help of God, part of this important law will become redundant, since we will be able to locate many missing persons before they are added to the list of long-term missing."
According to figures presented during the discussions, approximately 4,000 missing persons cases are reported in Israel each year. While the vast majority are eventually resolved, an estimated 10 to 20 people annually are never found.
Since the establishment of the state, roughly 600 people in Israel have remained missing without a trace