SAFA - The Asra Media Office renewed its call on Thursday for the recovery of the bodies of Palestinian prisoners and other Palestinians withheld by the Israeli occupation, as well as for the fate of missing Palestinians to be revealed. It stressed that Israel’s policy of withholding bodies constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and deprives families of the right to know the fate of their loved ones, bid them farewell and bury them with dignity.

In a press statement issued on the occasion of the National Day for the Recovery of the Bodies of Palestinian and Arab Martyrs held by the Israeli occupation, observed by Palestinians on August 27 each year, the office said that the Israeli occupation has pursued the policy of withholding Palestinian bodies for decades, stressing that it is one of the most severe forms of punishment and humiliation inflicted on Palestinians and their families.

The office said available information, based on figures reported by media outlets, indicates that the Israeli occupation is holding the bodies of around 1,700 Palestinians. The number of victims whose identities have been documented by the National Campaign for the Recovery of Bodies and prisoners’ institutions stands at 799.

Among those documented are 256 Palestinians whose bodies are held in the so-called “cemeteries of numbers,” 99 former prisoners, 81 children under the age of 18 and 10 women. The office warned that the figures are likely to rise given the thousands of Palestinians reported missing in the Gaza Strip.

It affirmed that withholding the bodies of those killed constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, which require respect for the dead, their dignified treatment and the return of their bodies to their families.

The office highlighted that the consequences of this policy extend far beyond the withholding of bodies. This brutal practice is a form of enforced disappearance and collective punishment, as well as a violation of human dignity, the right to family life and the freedom to practice religious rites. 

For the families of the victims, the policy creates a prolonged state of uncertainty, pain and unresolved mourning.

The office called on the international community and human rights and humanitarian organizations to exert immediate pressure on Israel to reveal the fate of all missing Palestinians, release the bodies of those killed and return them to their families without conditions.

It also called for independent international investigations into the circumstances surrounding the withholding of the bodies and the treatment they have been subjected to, including violations of the sanctity of the dead.

The office further urged that Israel be held accountable for its continuing violations of international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly its policy of withholding Palestinian bodies. It also called for stronger popular, national and legal efforts to secure their recovery.