The High Court of Justice on Thursday granted a petition to stop the state from repatriating the body of a Palestinian killed in a security incident off the Gaza Strip's coast in February.
The petition was filed by Simcha and Leah Goldin, whose son, Lt. Hadar Goldin of the Givati Brigade, was killed in Gaza during the 2014 conflict. His remains and those of another soldier killed in that conflict, Sgt. Oron Shaul, are being held by Hamas.
Last month, 18-year-old fisherman Ismail Abu Riyaleh was killed when the Israeli Navy opened fire on a Palestinian boat that breached the limits of the authorized fishing zone and ignored calls to stop. This week, his family petitioned Israel to return his body for burial.
In its petition, the Goldin family said the state must first receive assurances that Abu Riyaleh's funeral "will not turn into a festival of Hamas propaganda."
"This is more than a legal order, it is a moral imperative for the Israeli government to stop rewarding Hamas, which holds soldiers and civilians in violation of international law," the family said.
"We, as a state, must change the equation immediately. Holding captives cannot be an asset, but a liability for which a price must be exacted from the enemy."
Justice Neal Hendel has set another hearing on the matter for Tuesday.
