‘Cemeteries of Numbers’: The Israeli military’s crimes against the Palestinian dead

One of the cemeteries where Israel buries Palestinians in numbered graves. | via X (formerly Twitter)

The following article was written by a People’s World correspondent in the Occupied West Bank. For safety and security reasons, the author’s name has been withheld.

Israel distinguishes itself among all nations by subjecting not only the living but also the deceased to unparalleled atrocities, exceeding the brutality even of some of history’s most racist and brutal colonial regimes.

The State of Israel regularly withholds the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians and other Arabs who sacrificed their lives at various stages of the Palestinian resistance struggle, often using their remains as bargaining chips in negotiations. These dead hostages are buried in secret graves located in closed military zones, inaccessible to the public. They are known as the “Cemeteries of Numbers,” and there are several of them.

The Banat Yacoub Bridge Cemetery is situated in a military zone where the Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian borders meet. It contains the remains of hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese victims killed in the 1982 war.

The Bir al Maksur (Jisr Damia) grave is in a closed military zone between Jericho and the Jordan Valley, marked by an iron gate bearing a sign in Hebrew: “Cemetery for the Enemy’s Victims.” It contains approximately 100 graves. The other two are Revidim Cemetery in the Jordan Valley and Shahita Cemetery in Wadi Hammam village.

The burial plots in the Cemeteries of Numbers are surrounded by stones, each one bearing a metal plate with a specific number but no name. Each number corresponds to an individual file held by Israeli security authorities.

Human rights organizations confirm some of the graves date back to the establishment of the State of Israel and have been used extensively since the armed Palestinian resistance began in June 1967.

It is challenging for these groups to determine the true number and locations of the Cemeteries of Numbers, however, or the identities of those buried within them. Israeli press reports suggest the graves often lack the minimum specifications suitable for human burials, and the treatment of the bodies is sometimes degrading.

In many cases, the dead are buried without proper insulation, and multiple bodies may be interred in the same pit, sometimes containing both men and women.

The establishment of the Cemeteries of Numbers is believed by many to be a cover-up for crimes committed against abducted Palestinians, including even torture until death. Many have speculated that those held captive were reportedly used for human spare parts or had their organs stolen for medical experiments within Israeli hospitals.

The families of the “martyred prisoners,” as Palestinians call them, believe that their sons and daughters are susceptible to being attacked or consumed by stray dogs, wild animals, or birds in these unknown graves.

The Israeli army is believed to bury them in shallow holes marked with an emblem of the Israeli Ministry of Health or in black plastic bags without proper burial conditions.

These crimes committed by the Israeli state against Palestinians reflect its fear of exposing its criminal practices against a people struggling for freedom and the establishment of their own independent state.

Denying Palestinians the right to mourn their loved ones is another manifestation of the dehumanization, brutality, and torment of millions under the occupation. The return of the bodies and remains of Palestinians to their homeland, allowing them to reunite with their families and receive proper burials, remains a crucial issue that deserves attention.

It is a case that requires unified international opposition and which should be presented before the International Criminal Court. The treatment of these Palestinian dead is no less significant than the issues of freeing prisoners and the right of return.

As with all op-eds published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Abo Sam

Abo Sam is the pen name of a People's World correspondent who reports from inside Occupied Palestine in the West Bank.