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Press release
Body of Deceased Palestinian Classified as Merchandise by Israeli Forces
Date: 24 March, 2002
Ref: 44/2002
This morning, PCHR sent a complaint to the Israeli military legal advisor after Israeli occupying forces classified as merchandise the body of an elderly Palestinian woman at Rafah crossing, on the border between Egypt and the Gaza strip, as it was being returned from Egypt for burial. Israeli forces said that they would not allow the body to enter the Gaza strip unless Palestinian National Authority (PNA) officials filled out a customs form ordinarily used for imports.
Hind Salah Sayed Jarada, 67, from Gaza died in Egypt on 19 March while undergoing treatment for cancer. Her son, Nabil Mohammed Jarada, made arrangements for her body to be returned to Gaza. On 20 March, the body was brought to the Rafah border crossing but was denied entry by Israeli occupying forces unless a customs form was filled out by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The form is normally used for imports.
After several hours of waiting at the border crossing, Mr. Jarada was forced to take the corpse of his mother to a nearby hospital on the Egyptian side. The next day, upon the intervention several parties, including PCHR, Israeli forces allowed the body to enter the Gaza strip.
In its complaint to the Israeli military legal advisor, PCHR accused Israeli occupying forces of showing gross disrespect of religious beliefs and customs, as well as the dignity of the deceased, in classifying Ms. Jarada’s body as a trade good. PCHR called on the Israeli military legal advisor to initiate a serious investigation into the matter and to take disciplinary action against those responsible.
PCHR notes that this incident must be understood in the context of the comprehensive siege and closure imposed by Israel on the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the early 1990s and severely tightened during the al-Aqsa Intifada. Israeli forces control all of the international borders of the OPT and restrict internal movement between Palestinian communities as well, affecting all aspects of economic, social, and political life. In addition to crippling the Palestinian economy (which contracted by approximately 50% in the early months of the al-Aqsa Intifada due to siege and closure) and impeding access to medical care (including emergency treatment), the siege and closure also negatively impact the personal dignity of Palestinians.
