Around 500 Bodies of Palestinian Prisoners Who Died in Prison are Still Held by Israel

The Israeli military arrested Gazans. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - The National Campaign to Repatriate the Bodies of the Martyrs said that the Israeli occupation authorities continue to hold the bodies of 500 Palestinians killed in Israeli prisons, including the bodies of 58 other people since early 2024.

The campaign considers the detention of the bodies of murdered Palestinians in cemeteries and freezers as a violation of the principles of international humanitarian law and relevant international norms.

"Storing corpses in colonial cemeteries and refrigerators is an insult to human dignity, both during life and after death, and constitutes collective punishment," said the Campaign, reported by WAFA, May 2.

They further urged international organizations to demand the repatriation of the bodies of slain Palestinians, so that their families can bury them in a manner consistent with human dignity.

The National Campaign further calls on all human rights defenders, to pressure the Israeli side to release them, stressing "it is a great shame for the world to remain silent about a person's punishment even after his death."

Quoting The New Arab, Israel's Supreme Court in 2019 approved the detention of the bodies of dead Palestinians, to be used as bargaining chips in the future, in a move described as inhumane by Palestinians and rights groups.