Addameer's attorney Mohammed Mahmoud has received a decision from the Israeli High Court in response to a petition filed on behalf of the families of extrajudicially killed Palestinians that have been withheld by Israeli authorities. The Court's decision forces the police and the Israeli government to explain the reason for suspending the return of Palestinian bodies to their families. The High Court gave the Israeli police until 15 August 2016 to explain their position. The decision to suspend the return of bodies came after Erdan criticized the presence of a large number of people following the burial of Alaa Abu Jamal, 22-year old from Jabal Al Mukabber, who extrajudicially executed by Israeli forces on 13 October 2015. The Israeli government had set conditions for the release of deceased Palestinians, including financial guarantees, restriction on the numbers of the attendees, designation of the locations of the burials and prohibition on  the use of electronic devices. 

Addameer considers the practice of the withholding of the  bodies to be a form of collective punishment and violation of the right to dignity, freedom to practice culture and freedom of religion. The withholding of the bodies adds to the severe grieve and trauma of families of the deceased and obstructs the possibility of investigations through forensic autopsies in order to establish the circumstances of the killings. 

In its concluding observations on the fifth periodic report, the UN Committee Against Torture, called upon the Israeli authorities to “to return the bodies of the Palestinians that have not yet been returned to their relatives as soon as possible so they can be buried in accordance with their traditions and religious customs, and to avoid that similar situations are repeated in the future” (paragraph 43).