Controlling Palestinian Bodies in Life and Death

Diana Buttu speaks with Sawsan Zaher, an attorney at Adalah, a Haifa-based organization that promotes the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel, about the July 22 Israeli Supreme Court hearing in which she sought the release of Ahmad Erakat's body. Ahmad Erekat was killed by Israeli soldiers over a month ago at a checkpoint. Israel continues to hold onto the body of Ahmad, denying his family their right to bury him and say their final goodbyes. Israel has a long history of post mortem punishment of Palestinians. Whether by holding onto Palestinian bodies, burying them in unmarked graves, or degrading handling of their remains. Over the decades, we’ve seen that Israel has enacted various policies of withholding Palestinian bodies and imposing restrictions on funerals, as a means of punishment and control, even in death.