Family members of hostages and former hostages petitioned the High Court on Tuesday to intervene in a hostage deal.
The petition, published by Channel 13, asks for an urgent interlocutory injunction that would force the government to decide on the conditions for a hostage deal.
“This petition is a desperate cry of the hostages to this distinguished court, in a request to help realize the government’s obligation to work to free them,” the 112-signature petition read.
Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was murdered in captivity with five other hostages after they survived nearly 11 months in Gaza, explained to The Jerusalem Post why he signed the petition.
“The petition comes after 15 months in which 100 men and women remain held hostage in Gaza. In Israel, there is a Basic Law that guarantees every person basic rights – dignity and freedom. In recent months, there is growing suspicion that the Israeli government is prioritizing other interests over the dignity and freedom of the hostages, and even over their very lives,” he said.
“If indeed the government prefers to continue the war and sacrifice the lives of civilians who could be saved through a political agreement, it is blatantly violating the rights of our family members and those of every citizen in Israel,” he added. “Today, it sacrifices 100 hostages, and tomorrow, it could sacrifice any one of us.”
Gat’s rights have already been violated in the most horrific way imaginable, he said.
“Instead of reaching a deal to bring her back, continued military operations led to her murder,” he said. “We are petitioning the High Court of Justice because it is the last recourse left to us after being silenced in the Knesset and ignored by the government. We will not allow the government to decide the fate of 100 hostages in violation of the law, values, and mutual responsibility on which our nation is founded.
“They missed the opportunity to bring Carmel back. We will not let them miss the chance to save hostages again.”
Prof. Barak Medina, one of the lawyers who submitted the petition on behalf of hostage families said human rights laws are designed, first and foremost, to protect hostages.
“The government is not permitted to consider only the interest of security and ignore the necessity of rescuing the hostages,” he said. “Judicial oversight is needed to ensure that the government gives appropriate weight to the fate of the hostages.”
The petition also requested the court order the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address “why should it not be determined that the refusal of the Israeli government to agree to a deal for the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terrorist organization unlawfully violates the constitutional rights of the hostages to life, bodily integrity, and human dignity?”
It further asks the court to address the question, “Why should it not be determined that Israel’s government must decide without delay on conditions for a deal to release the hostages?”
The petitioners asked that the High Court set a date to discuss the petition “due to the unbearably difficult reality the hostages and their families face, and due to the incredibly difficult reality faced by all Israeli citizens.”
Avoiding making a difficult decision
One of the characteristics of the situation is the “accumulation of data that shows that the government has not made a decision but is avoiding exercising its authority,” which the petition said amounts to a failure to protect the hostages right to life.
The petition said the court has a role in ensuring the government’s decisions are made through worthy processes.