The National Campaign for the Retrieval of Martyrs’ Bodies has accused the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) of withholding the bodies of 253 Palestinian citizens in cemeteries of numbers and 45 others in morgue refrigerators.
Coordinator of the campaign Salwa Hammad said there were ongoing popular and official efforts to have the IOA release the withheld bodies of martyrs as well as efforts to internationalize the issue.
Hammad added that the Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs had prepared a plan to demand the release of all Palestinian bodies being withheld by the IOA.
She said that several popular events would be held on August 27 to mark the national day for the martyrs being held by the IOA.
Israeli authorities keep scores of bodies of Palestinians in secret graveyards where graves are labeled with numbers on small metal plates instead of names. The cemeteries are closed military zones that the public cannot usually enter.
There is no precise information about the number of these cemeteries or their locations.
The IOA mostly detains the bodies of Palestinian martyrs after they allegedly carry out attacks against Israelis.
