Detention of the bodies of the martyrs: another face of the racism of the occupation

Written by: Dr. Omar Rahal

After the end of Western colonialism, Israel, the occupying state, may be the only country in the world that holds the bodies of the martyrs, as a systematic policy based on racist foundations that reflect moral decline, values, and an inhumane position that shames the forehead. The occupying power is still detaining the bodies of the fedayeen and prisoners since the early seventies of the last century, such as the fedayeen Shamekh Ezz El-Din, Hamdan Raafat, Dalal Al-Maghribi, and the prisoners Anis Doula, Bassam Al-Sayeh, Kamal Abu Waar, Nasser Abu Hamid, and dozens of Palestinian and Arab fedayeen.

In order to implement this racist and inhumane policy, the occupation prepared number cemeteries and refrigerators for the dead to hold the bodies of those who were martyred while carrying out commando operations against Israeli targets, or who were martyred in captivity inside the occupation prisons, or who were assassinated by the occupation forces.

The occupying state maintains four cemeteries of numbers in which Palestinian and Arab martyrs are buried. They are the cemetery of numbers adjacent to the "Daughters of Jacob" bridge and located in a military zone, at the confluence of the Palestinian-Syrian-Lebanese borders, most of whom were martyred in the 1982 war and beyond. The cemetery of numbers is located in the closed military zone between the city of Jericho and Damieh Bridge in the Ghor, and it is surrounded by a wall, above which hangs a large sign that reads in Hebrew: "A cemetery for the victims of the enemy." And the "Revidim" cemetery, located in the valley. The cemetery of "Shehita" is located in the village of Wadi al-Hamam, north of the city of Tiberias, between Mount Arbil and Lake Tiberias. Most of the bodies in it are for the martyrs of the Jordan Valley battles between 1965-1975.

Detaining the bodies of the martyrs amounts to an international crime according to international humanitarian law, human rights law, and relevant international treaties and agreements. These agreements oblige the occupation to hand over the bodies to their families immediately, based on Article (17) of the First Geneva Convention, which obliges the parties to the conflict to verify that The dead were buried respectfully and according to the rituals of their religion, and in tombs that were respected and maintained permanently. And Article (120) of the Third Geneva Convention, and Article (16) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, those articles that explicitly affirm the need to respect the dignity of the deceased, and to observe their religious rituals during burials by handing them over to their families, as well as the decisions of the United Nations Committee against Torture. Nevertheless, the occupying power is still turning its back on international law by detaining (389) bodies of Palestinian and Arab martyrs, of which (256) bodies have been held since 1967 in what is known as the number graves. It has also detained (133) youth, women and children in morgues since 2015, from West Bank, Gaza Strip and occupied Jerusalem.

The Palestinians did not stop demanding the occupation authorities to hand over the bodies of the martyrs to their families. In 2010, the national campaign to recover the bodies of the martyrs succeeded in recovering the body of the martyr, Mashhour Al-Arouri, after years of legal struggle before the courts, after a 34-year detention in the number cemetery. The body of the martyr Hafez Abu Zant after (35) years of detention, and he was a companion of the martyr Al-Arouri, and in 2013 and 2014, the bodies of some Palestinian martyrs were handed over prior to the resumption of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority at the time.

And as part of its racist policies towards the Palestinians, the occupying state has violated international law, when the Supreme Court of Occupation issued a decision in September 2019 authorizing the Israeli military commander to detain the bodies of Palestinian martyrs and bury them (temporarily) for the purpose of using them as future negotiating cards, according to Article 133 (3). to Israeli emergency systems. This decision contradicts a previous decision of the same court issued in December 2017, which stated that it is not permissible to detain the bodies. The decision of the Supreme Court issued in 2019 reaffirms that the judicial authority in the occupying state is a partner to the executive authority in its crimes.

By continuing to detain the bodies of the martyrs in their cemeteries and refrigerators, the occupying power aims to achieve a number of political (gains), not the least of which is to put pressure on the Palestinians in general, and on the families of the martyrs in particular, and also as an attempt to deter the Palestinians from resisting it, and using the bodies as a bargaining chip. In any exchange of prisoners between the resistance and the occupation, this is in addition to achieving gains on the ground by including the issue of the bodies in the negotiation file and adopting it as a bargaining chip and pressure on the Palestinian negotiator to force him to make more concessions. It is also a form of collective punishment, taking revenge on the martyrs after their death, punishing their relatives and their families and multiplying their pain, with more oppression, and depriving their relatives of their honor and burial according to Sharia. That is, it is a form of psychological torture for the living.

The matter does not stop at detaining the bodies of the martyrs only, but there is also the theft of their organs, and their bodies are subjected to medical experiments, whether by medical students in the universities of the occupation, or by new doctors who serve in the ranks of the occupation army. In many cases, the occupation uses the dead bodies of the martyrs (as a gesture of goodwill) towards us, and this requires all Palestinians not to deal with this policy except with rejection, and not to accept the idea from its foundations.

In the face of this Israeli arrogance and the gross violation of international law by the occupying state, and in order to confront this fascism, the moral and ethical degradation and disgraceful behavior practiced by the occupying state towards the bodies of the martyrs and their families, it is required of all Palestinians a national plan so that this issue remains alive and raised at the various official, popular and media levels locally, regionally, and internationally.

As for human rights and international law, this file must be present on the table of the Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and all relevant intergovernmental organizations. This is in addition to calling on the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to shoulder their responsibilities towards the occupying state's violation of international humanitarian law, given that the occupying state is a party to the Geneva Conventions.

The Palestinian National Authority can resort to the international judiciary, foremost of which is the International Court of Justice in The Hague, in order to obtain a preliminary decision from the court regarding the legality of the detention of the bodies of the martyrs by the occupying state, based on international law, in addition to prosecuting the military and politicians in the state Occupation is before the international courts, and also before the national courts whenever the matter allows in the countries whose laws allow it.

Palestinian human rights institutions can also raise this issue before international non-governmental coalitions, networks and human rights federations, in order for these international organizations to raise the issue before their governments and parliaments to put pressure on the occupying power.

In parallel with this, starting a media campaign by raising this issue at the level of global public opinion, whether through conferences, seminars, photo exhibitions, and articles to build an international public opinion supportive of us, which is matched by an official Palestinian diplomatic campaign at the international, regional, and Arab levels.

On the other hand, and in order for the national efforts to recover the bodies of the martyrs to succeed, we must think aloud about the need to build on the achievements of the national campaign to recover the bodies of the martyrs, by institutionalizing this campaign through a national institution affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization, with financial and administrative independence, and a board of directors. From the official, human rights, media and academic institutions, and with a plan and strategy based on not only exposing the practices of the occupation and its racist policies, but also in (arming) the world to put pressure on the occupation to hand over the bodies of the martyrs to their families.

In conclusion, mercy to the soul of the fighter Salem Khalat Abu Ziyad, who led the national campaign to retrieve the bodies of the martyrs ably and with self-denial until his last breath, and thanks, gratitude and high appreciation to colleagues at the Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights for their great efforts, and for carrying this national file on a voluntary basis Unparalleled professionalism.