Salah Abdel Ati The Occupation Harvests Organs and Skin of Palestinian Martyrs

Date: April 3, 2025

Press Release

Salah Abdel Ati: The Occupation Harvests Organs and Skin of Palestinian Martyrs

Dr. Salah Abdel Ati, President of the International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights, stated that the Israeli occupation has, for decades, practiced a systematic crime involving the theft of organs and skin from Palestinian martyrs after withholding their bodies.

Abdel Ati added, in an interview on Extra News channel, that these crimes include the extraction of heart valves, corneas, kidneys, and skin, which are used for medical research, cosmetic procedures, or sold on the black market.

He pointed out that these operations are carried out under the supervision of specialized surgeons at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, noting that Israel is the only country in the world that treats victims’ bodies in such a manner. He explained that this policy aims to undermine the morale of the Palestinian people even after death.

Secret Cemeteries and Morgue Detention

Abdel Ati explained that the bodies of martyrs are either held in morgues or buried in cemeteries known as “Numbered Graves.” These bodies are sometimes returned after vital organs have been removed, causing severe psychological suffering for families who are unable to identify or properly bury their loved ones according to religious rites.

He noted that these secret cemeteries contain hundreds of bodies, some belonging to martyrs from Palestine and Lebanon, as well as prisoners who died in Israeli detention.

He also stated that Israel resumed this policy in 2015 after a temporary halt due to court decisions, considering these practices part of an integrated judicial, executive, and legislative system that facilitates the theft of bodies and organs.

Evidence and Reports Confirm Violations

Abdel Ati emphasized that there is documented evidence of these crimes, including testimonies from Palestinian, Arab, and international doctors, as well as reports from human rights organizations and missing persons research centers, in addition to the Palestinian National Campaign for the Retrieval of Martyrs’ Bodies.

He noted that returned bodies often show surgical marks or missing vital organs, and some are in advanced stages of decomposition, indicating systematic organ and skin harvesting.

He further explained that Palestinian prisoners are treated as numbers rather than names upon entering prisons, which facilitates the occupation’s policy of managing secret cemeteries and dealing with victims as mere statistics, in a manner that violates human dignity.

Humanitarian and Legal Implications

Abdel Ati stated that organ harvesting and the withholding of bodies violate international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, which require the return of bodies and their burial in accordance with religious practices.

He added that these practices have not received a serious response from the international community, despite clear evidence implicating the occupation in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He concluded that the use of secret cemeteries and prisoner numbering serves as a tool of retaliation and control, inflicting deep psychological and moral harm on Palestinian families and society as a whole. He stressed that any efforts to recover the bodies require the occupation’s compliance and international supervision—conditions that remain absent, particularly in the Gaza Strip