Jerusalem, Dec 15 (AFP) Israel's supreme court ruledtoday that it was illegal not to return the bodies of deadPalestinian assailants to their families unless an exchangewas agreed.
Current legislation does not authorise the refusal toreturn the bodies, the court said, following a motion filed byfamilies of nine Palestinians.
However, the Jewish state's highest court granted thegovernment six months to pass a law allowing it to keep holdof the corpses, otherwise the bodies would have to be handedover.
The government announced last year that it would notreturn the bodies unless the Palestinians agreed to anexchange for the remains of two Israeli soldiers believed tohave been killed in a 2014 war in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated last monththat Israel would use the bodies of Palestinian militantskilled in a Gaza tunnel explosion as part of a deal to receivethose of two Israeli soldiers.
Today, Netanyahu described the court's ruling as "veryproblematic".
"Hamas must not be offered free gifts, and I will convenea meeting on Sunday... in order to find a concrete and legalsolution to keep putting pressure on Hamas," he said on hisofficial Facebook page. (AFP)CHT.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.