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Updated October 8th, 2021 at 22:22 IST

Israel-Palestine War: Human rights group, Palestinians raise concerns over holding bodies

As the Israel-Palestine conflict continues to worsen, the Palestinians and other human rights groups have raised concerns over the practice of holding bodies.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
Palestine
Image: AP | Image:self
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As the Israel-Palestine conflict continues to worsen, the Palestinians and other human rights groups have raised concerns over the practice of holding bodies as ‘bargaining chips.' The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, a Palestinian rights group has said that Israel is holding as many as 82 Palestinian bodies, and Hamas still holds the remains of two Israeli soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war. The groups have also said that many of those bodies are buried in secret cemeteries with the plots marked only by plaques of numbers. 

After the policy to withhold bodies of attackers was established back in 2015, the human rights activists have reportedly said that Israel began holding in bodies of all Palestinians killed during the alleged attacks even though they are not connected to the terrorist group, Hamas. Hamas rules Gaza and Israel considers it to be a terrorist group. Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director at the New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of turning “corpses into bargaining chips.” As per the Associated Press report, he said that the policy is “deliberately and unlawfully punishing the families of the deceased, who are not accused of any wrongdoing.”

Mustafa Erekat, who is still waiting for the remains of his son killed a year ago in Israel, said, “They have no right to keep my son, and it is my right for my son to have a good funeral,” as per AP. Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said at the time that holding the remains of the victims of the attacks would ensure the return of Israeli captives and even the remains. One of these bodies is Erekat’s son, Ahmed.

Footage shows the incident involving Ahmed

Israeli officials, as per AP have said that Ahmed was shot and killed after deliberately plowing into a military checkpoint in June 2020. The news agency has stated that the security camera footage showed the car veering into a group of Israeli soldiers and sending one of them flying back. Citing the same clip, the report stated that Ahmed had stepped out of the car and raised one of his hands before he was shot multiple times and then collapsed to the ground. 

Ahmed’s family has said that it was an accident that caused their son his life. AP stated that Mustafa said his son was passing through the checkpoint on his way to the city of Bethlehem to purchase clothes for his sister’s wedding that night. The incident has reportedly attracted widespread attention because Ahmed was the nephew of Saeb Erekat, a veteran Palestinian spokesperson and negotiator who died in 2020.

Image: AP

(With AP inputs)

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Published October 8th, 2021 at 22:25 IST

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