The petition asks the court to order the immediate release of the bodies for burial, arguing that the justification previously relied upon by the state no longer applies.
The state asked the High Court of Justice on Sunday for a 30-day extension to submit its preliminary response to a petition seeking the return of the bodies of six Arab citizens of Israel withheld by the state.
The petition, filed by Adalah on behalf of relatives of the deceased, asks the court to order the immediate release of the bodies for burial, arguing that the justification previously relied upon by the state – holding bodies as leverage in negotiations over Israeli hostages and missing persons – no longer applies following the return of the living and slain Israeli hostages in recent months.
The original petition was filed on April 26, and Justice Ofer Grosskopf ordered the state to submit a preliminary response by Sunday.
In its request, the state said it had sought additional factual clarifications from the respondents, along with input from other state officials, and that more time was needed to formulate, approve, and file the response.
The state asked the court to move the deadline to June 10.
Supreme court justice Ofer Grosskopf arrives for a court hearing on a petition to convene the Judicial Selection Committee at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, February 12, 2026. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)
The court has not yet issued a decision on the request.
Adalah attorney Salam Irsheid, representing the petitioners, opposed the extension, saying the families “strongly object” to the request.
Irsheid: Clients prevented from exercising ‘most basic right’
He argued that granting it would prolong the suffering of the families and continue preventing them from exercising “the most basic right” to bury their sons according to their religious beliefs.
“In these circumstances, there is no justification for an additional 30-day extension for the filing of a preliminary response,” Irsheid said.
The petition challenges what Adalah described as the continued withholding of bodies despite a “total change in circumstances.”
It argues that continued retention violates the dignity of both the deceased and their families and is now unlawful, disproportionate, and unsupported by authority.