Graves to be removed from Gush Katif
Transfer of graves from Neve Dekalim cemetery to Israel scheduled to be completed no later than next Sunday following agreement between the government, bereaved families
The transfer of graves from the former Gaza settlement of Neve Dekalim into Israel is scheduled to be completed no later than next Sunday after the government and the families of those buried in the cemetery reached an agreement on the matter.
The agreement states that the government would comply with the families’ demands regarding the new burial locations.
The High Court hearing on the matter, which was scheduled for Monday, has been called off in light of the development.
Two Magen David Adom ambulances began transferring two graves from the Gush Katif cemetery to Jerusalem's Mount of Olives early Monday.
The ambulances also carried volunteers who used to reside in the evacuated Gaza settlement of Elei Sinai to help facilitate the grave transfer.
Burial times on TV, radio
The caskets, not including those of three IDF soldiers buried in the Neve Dekalim cemetery, will be handed over to the Burial Society (Hevra Kadisha), which will tend to the reburials in full cooperation with the bereaved families.
The IDF will be in charge of transferring the caskets from Neve Dekalim to cemeteries throughout the country, unless the families request otherwise.
The reburial ceremonies of eight people who were buried in Gush Katif will be held on Monday.
On Thursday a joint burial ceremony will be held for most of the deceases in Jerusalem’s Har Hazeytim (Mount Olives) cemetery. The IDF will haul the caskets to the Kissufim roadblock, whereupon the families will take charge of the funeral procession to Jerusalem.
The government, for its part, will assist in the logistical arrangements for the Jerusalem reburial ceremony. The IDF will announce the different burial times on Israeli TV and radio.
Moreover, the government will absorb the costs of the arrival of close relatives to the funerals from abroad.
Attorney Mordechai Mintzer, who represented the families who petitioned to the High Court on the grave removal matter, said in response to the agreement, “Once the matter was assigned to the army, which, unfortunately, is well-experienced in holding funerals, the issue was treated with the appropriate sensitivity.”
