What is it about?

The article deals with the rights of dead combatants to be buried respectfully and the rights of their families to receive information about the location of their burial and to have access to their graves. However, the right to have the combatants' remains repatriated is not an absolute or core right and can be limited and balanced with other interests. The article addresses the question of how these rights are infringed when organizations that do not respect the international humanitarian law hold the combatants' remains and what discusses the ways states can legally and morally respond to such cases. The article also addresses the case law of the Israeli soldiers remains held by Hamas since 2014.

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Why is it important?

The right of soldiers for a decent burial is one of the cornerstones of international humanitarian law since its early days. It is also a topical issue, relevant to all armed conflicts in general and specifically to armed conflicts with non state actors who often do not abide by the laws of armed conflicts. This is now the case of two Israeli soldiers whose remains are held by Hamas. It was also a relevant topic for the Chechnya- Russia armed conflict, the war in Syria and most probably will be also relevant in the current war between Russia and Ukraine.

Perspectives

In addition to the academic importance of this topic, I personally felt a moral obligation to write it as an additional contribution to the pressure on the Israeli government to continue negotiations for the repatriation of remains of the Israeli soldiers held by Hamas and to release the two living civilians held there. I hope this article will not only develop the academic research on the topic but will also help to raise public awareness of this pressing need.

Dr. Hilly Moodrick-Even Khen
Ariel University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: ‘Bury Me Not, I Pray Thee, in Egypt: But I Will Lie with My Fathers’, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, February 2022, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/18781527-bja10041.
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