Israel 'Returns' Bodies; Media Forgets Decades of Disappeared Palestinians
France 24 highlights the 'return' of 15 Palestinian bodies by Israel, allowing the narrative to frame this as an isolated incident, perhaps even an act of concession. What goes unsaid is that Israel has systematically withheld Palestinian bodies for decades, using them as bargaining chips or burying them in 'cemeteries of numbers.' This isn't a new policy; it dates back to the 1960s, with
organizations like Al-Haq documenting over 250 bodies still held, some for over 40 years. The 'return' of these 15 is a drop in a very morbid bucket. The media reports these 'returns' with a detached neutrality, failing to contextualize it within international humanitarian law that mandates dignified burial. There's no mention of the psychological torture inflicted upon families, nor the political
leverage gained. It's simply news that bodies were 'returned,' as if they were overdue library books, not human remains held against the will of their grieving families. One might wonder why international bodies aren't asking why these bodies were withheld in the first place, or for how long, let alone about the circumstances of their deaths.