In response to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks, the "National Campaign" to Recover the Bodies of Martyrs has highlighted the glaring hypocrisy in his criticism. While Trump condemned the detention of Israeli prisoners' bodies in Gaza, calling those responsible "sick and perverted," the campaign argues that the same condemnation should apply to Israel, which has long withheld the remains of hundreds of Palestinians.

According to the campaign, Israeli authorities currently hold 665 Palestinian bodies in so-called "numbered cemeteries" and refrigeration units. This includes 259 individuals killed since October 7, 2023, during the latest Israeli assault on Gaza, as well as 67 prisoners who died under questionable circumstances in Israeli jails. Among the detained remains are 59 children and nine women, underscoring Israel’s indiscriminate targeting of all segments of Palestinian society. Unconfirmed reports suggest that over 1,500 Palestinian bodies may be held at the Sde Teiman military camp.

This practice is not new. Since the 1960s, Israel has systematically withheld Palestinian bodies, depriving families of the right to bury their loved ones in accordance with their traditions. This ongoing policy violates international law and basic human dignity, yet it continues without accountability.

Trump’s selective outrage reflects a broader pattern of Western double standards on humanitarian issues in the Middle East. While global attention is fixated on Israeli captives, the suffering of Palestinian families denied the return of their loved ones remains largely ignored. If detaining bodies is, as Trump claims, an act of moral depravity, then Israel must also be held accountable.

The campaign calls for international pressure on Israel to release detained Palestinian bodies and uphold basic human rights. As debates on war ethics persist, the world must confront these injustices with consistency. The question remains: Will the international community demand accountability, or will selective morality continue to shape the discourse on Palestinian rights?