Israeli Occupation Reveals It Is Withholding the Bodies of 1,700 Palestinian Martyrs

Crime of Genocide Extends Beyond Death

Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

National Campaign for the Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies

August 13, 2026

Ramallah, occupied Palestine - The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the National Campaign for the Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies said in a statement on Thursday that what was revealed by the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz—regarding the occupation authorities’ acknowledgment that they are holding the bodies of approximately 1,700 Palestinian martyrs, some buried in graves and others kept in refrigerators—once again exposes the scale and extent of the policy of withholding the bodies of martyrs, treating it as one of the tools of control and collective punishment practiced by the occupation against the Palestinian people.

The PPS and the National Campaign explained that this announcement by the occupation is not the first of its kind. Since the beginning of the Gaza genocide, the occupation authorities have, on various occasions, announced differing figures for the number of Palestinian martyrs’ bodies being held by them, including the bodies of women, children, and political prisoners. 

On one occasion, the occupation claimed to detain approximately 1,500 bodies. Despite the completion of prisoner-exchange deals—including the most recent one in October 2025, which involved the handover of the bodies of a number of martyrs—the newly-announced figure reflects an increase in the number of Palestinian bodies being held, encompassing different Palestinian geographic areas. The PPS and the National Campaign emphasized that this increase cannot be separated from the context of the crime of genocide that the occupation continues to perpetrate, alongside widespread killings, enforced disappearances, and the existence of thousands of missing persons, particularly those abducted from the Gaza Strip.

The organizations stressed that the withholding of bodies is not a practice separate from the broader system of crimes, but rather a systematic policy in which the occupation authorities use martyrs’ bodies as a tool to punish the living, pressure their families, bargain with them, and deprive them of one of their most basic human rights: saying farewell to their loved ones and burying them with dignity.

They added that the significance of the announced figure lies not only in its size, but also in what it indicates about the expanding scope and continued implementation of this policy, as well as the fact that the occupation authorities continue to subject the bodies of martyrs to a system of restrictions and procedures whose effects extend to Palestinian families, leaving them in a state of ongoing waiting and open-ended loss.

A Policy That Extends Beyond Death

The practice of withholding the bodies of martyrs has been in place for more than five decades. However, in the current period, it has reached an unprecedented level, both in terms of the number of bodies being held and the length of time families are deprived of recovering the remains of their loved ones.

They noted that the figures circulating regarding the number of bodies remain estimates, given the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, the presence of thousands of missing persons, and the continued crime of enforced disappearance. This makes determining the actual numbers and the fate of the victims an urgent and necessary task.

The National Campaign for the Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies and other Palestinian organizations previously published a fact sheet on the occasion of the National Day for the Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies, observed annually on August 27. The fact sheet addressed what it described as the Israeli occupation’s “policies of control over death.”

The fact sheet explained that withholding bodies represents one of the most prominent forms of these “policies of death,” through which the body after martyrdom is used as a means of domination and repression, families are deprived of the opportunity to publicly mourn, and they are left waiting for prolonged periods to recover the remains of their loved ones.

This policy does not stop at withholding the body. In many cases, the occupation authorities impose harsh conditions when returning the remains, including requiring burials to take place at night, restricting the number of people allowed to attend, and imposing a heavy security presence. In this way, even funeral and burial ceremonies become an additional arena for control and repression.

From a Military Practice to a Comprehensive System

The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, which is handling the legal follow-up on this issue, explained that the historical trajectory of the policy of withholding bodies reveals how it was transformed from an irregular military practice into a policy deeply embedded in the occupation’s legal, judicial, and legislative system.

Since the occupation of 1967, thousands of Palestinians have been buried in what are known as secret “cemeteries of numbers.” In 2004, a directive temporarily restricted this practice, before it was revived forcefully in 2015, based on the British Emergency Regulations of 1945.

In 2017, the Israeli occupation’s Supreme Court ruled that there was no legal basis for withholding bodies. However, it postponed implementation of the ruling, giving the government an opportunity to enact legislation that would provide a legal framework for the practice. In 2018, the Knesset amended what is known as the Counter-Terrorism Law, granting the police formal authority to withhold bodies.

In 2019, the court reversed its previous decision and, in response to a petition filed by the Jerusalem Center, authorized the withholding of bodies for the purpose of “bargaining.” The scope of the policy was then expanded in 2020 to include all Palestinians accused of carrying out armed resistance operations.

Thus, a practice that began as a supposedly temporary military measure was transformed into a systematic policy, institutionalized through military orders, legislation, and judicial decisions. This reflects the occupation system’s determination to turn the body of a martyr into a tool of control, punishment, and bargaining even after their life has ended.

“Suspended Mourning”: Punishment That Extends to the Families of Martyrs

The withholding of bodies has profound human and psychological effects on the families of martyrs, as the occupation authorities leave them in a state of “suspended mourning.” Families are unable to learn the fate of their loved one’s remains, say goodbye to them, or bury them, depriving them of a fundamental human right to complete the rituals of loss and mourning.

In many cases, the bodies are returned frozen or bearing signs of injuries and disfigurement, compounding the families’ trauma and depriving them of the opportunity to bid farewell to their loved ones under conditions that preserve their dignity.

The occupation authorities also impose harsh conditions for the recovery and burial of bodies in various cases, including conditional financial guarantees, nighttime burials, restrictions on the number of mourners, or transferring the body to locations far from the family.

Thus, the crime does not end with the killing of a Palestinian. The punishment continues after death, with the body becoming a tool for punishing and humiliating the family, while death itself becomes another arena for the exercise of control and oppression.

Violation of Human Dignity and International Law

The PPS and the National Campaign stressed that withholding the bodies of martyrs constitutes a grave violation of human dignity and raises a range of violations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including obligations concerning respect for the dead, the dignified treatment of human remains, and respect for family life and the religious beliefs and practices of families.

The continued withholding of such a large number of bodies, alongside the existence of thousands of missing persons in the Gaza Strip, also requires urgent international action to determine the fate of the missing, identify the victims, and ensure the recovery of martyrs’ remains and their return to their families.

These 1,700 bodies are not merely numbers, but 1,700 stories of loss, 1,700 killings, and 1,700 families deprived of their right to say goodbye, bury their loved ones, and mourn them. The continued withholding of these bodies reveals that the occupation system does not treat death as the end of a crime, but rather uses it as a tool for perpetuating control and punishment.

Accordingly, what is required is not merely to document the number of bodies being held, but to end this policy, hold those responsible to account, determine the fate of all missing persons, release the bodies of the martyrs and return them to their families, and end the use of the remains of the dead as a tool of collective punishment and bargaining.

Data on the Martyrs’ Bodies Held by the Occupation

The National Campaign for the Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies documents the detention of the remains of 800 Palestinian martyrs in the occupation’s cemeteries and refrigerators, including:

• 256 martyrs in the so-called “cemeteries of numbers.”

• 544 martyrs whose bodies have been withheld since the practice resumed in 2015.

• 99 martyrs from the prisoners’ movement.

• 83 children under the age of 18.

• 10 female martyrs.

Regarding the bodies of martyrs from the Gaza Strip, the campaign documented the handover of the remains of 930 martyrs from Gaza as of February 4, 2026. Some of these were handed over before the exchange deal and included remains that had been taken from cemeteries and from Al-Shifa Hospital.

In addition, the occupation authorities handed over 66 boxes containing human remains.

      (ENDS)