Defense Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday decided to change Israeli policy with respect to the release of terrorists' bodies and ordered the practice to be halted completely, regardless of their affiliation.
The move follows a series of discussions on deterrence with senior security officials. Bennett plans to present the policy change to the Diplomatic Security Cabinet for approval in the coming days, as part of his plan to enhance Israeli deterrence vis-à-vis the terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere in the region.
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Israeli policy for the past seven years has been to return terrorists' bodies to their families for burial, at times shortly after they were eliminated by the IDF, so as to prevent an escalation. Israel held on to the remains of senior terrorist operatives or those who committed mass acts of terror as leverage against their handlers.
But Bennett now seeks to take a firmer hand. The new directive means that the IDF will not release terrorists' remains now or in the future, regardless of their affiliation or the nature of the attack they perpetrated.
A source familiar with the issue said exceptions to this rule will remain at the discretion of the defense minister in accordance with the circumstances of each case, for example in cases where the terrorists were minors.
"This is just one of many moves Minister Bennett is currently considering as part of his efforts to change the reality in which terrorism is worthwhile," he said, adding the move also aims to prevent families from holding mass funerals for terrorists, which are known to encourage copycat attacks.
"This may also affect the issue of [Israel's] efforts on behalf of our missing soldiers," he said.
The High Court has recently ruled that the defense establishment can only hold the bodies of Hamas terrorists for future prisoner exchange talks, and not the bodies of individual terrorists whose militant affiliation is ambiguous.
