29 Sep 2021; MEMO: Muslim, Christian and Samaritan clerics yesterday called on the international community and human rights organisations to pressure Israel to release the bodies of Palestinian and Arab martyrs it holds.
In a conference on Israel's detention of the martyrs' bodies, organised by the National Committee for International Humanitarian Law in the Ministry of Justice, Palestinian Minister of Justice Muhammad Shalaldeh said the Israeli government's holding of the martyrs' bodies violates international and humanitarian law, and falls within the policy of collective punishment practiced by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people.
For his part, Samaritan priest and religious researcher, Hosni Al-Samari, said the policy violates the Torah's teachings and those of all religions.
He stressed that the three monotheistic religions must establish practical steps to stand before the world to demand the return of the bodies of Palestinian and Arab martyrs which are being held.
For his part, the representative of the Orthodox Churches, Father Elias Awad, said the holding of martyrs' bodies violates the principles of Christianity and international law, and it is a crime practiced by the occupation against the Palestinian people and the martyrs' families.
He appealed to the world and the churches to pressure Israel in order to hand over the martyrs' bodies.
Reiterating his calls, Palestinian Chief Justice, Judge Khaled Hroub, said holding the martyrs' bodies violates the principles of Islamic law and all international and moral norms and laws.
Hroub called for joining local and international efforts to recover the bodies.
