Israel holds bodies of 1,700 Palestinians as future bargaining tool

The Israeli authorities are holding the bodies of around 1,700 Palestinians as a bargaining tool for the future, Haaretz reported.

The newspaper said Israel was holding the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians for use as bargaining chips, despite there currently being no Israeli hostages.

It quoted two unnamed sources familiar with the matter as saying that recent discussions within Israel’s security establishment put the number of Palestinian bodies being held at around 1,700.

According to Haaretz, Shin Bet chief David Zini supports retaining the bodies in case Israeli hostages or missing people are held in the future. The Israeli military also supports this position.

The newspaper said most of the bodies belonged to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who took part in the 7 October 2023 attack or in fighting since then.

Some of the bodies, however, belonged to Palestinians who had not taken part in the fighting, it added.

The newspaper quoted legal sources as saying that, as long as Israel’s security cabinet has not held a preliminary discussion on the matter, the state has no legal authority to hold the bodies of Palestinians whose involvement in the fighting has not been proven.