The family of IDF soldier Yehuda Katz, one of the victims of the battle of Sultan Yakoub, was awarded a sum of NIS 60,000 by the Jerusalem District Court. Justice Joseph Shapiro however rejected the family’s allegations that the IDF could have prevented media leaks on the matter.
 
The court ruled that because authorities did not consult with them prior to declaring the soldiers dead, they were entitled to compensatory payment. Katz was listed as an MIA along with fellow soldiers Tzvi Feldman and Zechariah Baumel, and in 2004, the IDF Rabbinate declared them dead among soldiers whose place of burial is unknown. Following a petition to the Supreme Court by the families, the decision was reversed and they remain MIAs and efforts to learn more continue.

The Katz family explained to the court the unilateral state decision led to a deteriorating in their health, insisting before such a determination could be made; the military would have to show new evidence to support the change in status. The court did not agree regarding demands for ‘new evidence’.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)