Israel holding bodies of 1,700 Palestinians as bargaining chips, says report

Israel holding bodies of 1,700 Palestinians as bargaining chips, says report MEE staff on Tue, 08/11/2026 - 11:09 Shin Bet chief David Zini reportedly backs move despite no Israeli captives being held by Palestinian groups Body bags containing human remains after civil defence teams exhumed graves at Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, 7 December 2025 (AFP) Off Israel is holding the dead bodies of about 1,700 Palestinians as potential bargaining chips despite there being no Israeli hostages currently held by Palestinian armed groups, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported. According to the report, Shin Bet chief David Zini has urged Israel to retain the remains for possible use in future hostage negotiations, a position supported by the Israeli military. Haaretz reported that most of the remains belong to Palestinian combatants involved in the Hamas-led 7 October attack in 2023 but also include Palestinian civilians and 13 Israeli citizens.  Legal sources cited by Haaretz argue that Israel lacks the authority to hold the remains of Palestinian non-combatants, as the decision is not backed by Security Cabinet policy. In July, the Israeli daily reported that the authorities admitted in response to a High Court of Justice petition to holding the body of a Palestinian detainee, a photographer and father of four, who was arrested in December 2023 and died a day later while being held in a detention centre at the Erez Crossing.  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The body has reportedly not undergone an autopsy. His family discovered what happened to him in July 2025, after filing a petition through the rights group Gisha. Even after notifying the family, the government did not disclose information relating to the date, location or circumstances of his death, as well as the legal basis for retaining his body.  It claimed that he had been a “military Hamas operative”, which the family refutes. In July,