Hamas rally, Gaza
Hamas rally, GazaFlash 90

In the framework of a petition filed by the family of KIA soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin, the State asked the Supreme Court today to allow it to return within 72 hours the body of Ismail Abu Riala, who was killed in an incident with the Israeli Navy last week off the Gaza coast.

The family had asked the Supreme Court last month to determine the government must give 72-hour warning before it returns bodies of terrorists who carried out attacks and fully implement the cabinet's decisions regarding release of bodies.

Simcha and Leah Goldin
Simcha and Leah Goldinצילום: הלל מאיר/TPS

After filing the latest request, the Goldin family, with the assistance of lawyers and former security personnel, began investigating the circumstances of the body being released. Information reached them that at the beginning of January 2018 a similar incident occurred in which Gaza resident Abdallah Zidan was killed by the Egyptian navy and his funeral in Gaza on January 13 turned into a Hamas revival event.

The Goldin family announced today it will demand the State ensure the body's release for burial not turn into a festival that will serve Hamas.

"We mustn't forget we are dealing with a terrorist organization that is run like a bunch of pirates, so any act of returning a body that Israel does isn't properly received by Hamas leadership. In our view, returning a body that causes Hamas to hold a revival festival in the streets of Gaza is an unnecessary occurrence that harms Israel's interest in returning the soldiers," the family said.