Today (Monday), the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a petition against the decision of the Minister of Defense, which was ratified by the political-security cabinet, to hold the body of terrorist Walid Daka for use in exchange for hostages. It was determined that this decision did not deviate from the bounds of reasonableness and proportionality and, thus, there was no ground for the court's intervention. The verdict was written by Justice Amit, with the concurrence of Justice Grosskopf and Justice Kanfi-Steinitz. The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, commented "I welcome the fact that the Supreme Court did not intervene in the cabinet's decision, which was made in accordance with my position, that the bodies of Arab-Israeli terrorists, foremost among them the despicable terrorist Walid Daka, should be held for negotiation purposes. As long as Hamas continues to hold our captives, all possible pressure must be applied for their release." Terrorist Walid Daka was convicted in 1987 as the one responsible for a terrorist cell that kidnapped and murdered soldier Moshe Tamam. Daka, an Israeli citizen, was sentenced to life imprisonment, and his sentence was later reduced to 37 years in prison. While serving his sentence, Daka was convicted of another security offense of attempting to smuggle a phone into the prison, and he was sentenced to an additional two years in prison. On April 7, 2024, while in the custody of the Israel Prison Service, Daka died of cancer.
