Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused on Monday "Israel" of using "martyrs' bodies" kept in medical laboratories in Israeli universities.

Shtayyeh reported during a weekly government meeting in Ramallah that the occupation's terrorism crimes against the Palestinians do not come to a halt. He noted that the occupation killed up to 78 Palestinians this year only, including 15 minors. 

He stressed that when the bodies of Palestinian martyrs are being taken away, the occupation is increasing the pain of the families. The Prime Minister added that using the bodies of martyrs in Israeli university labs is a flagrant violation of human rights, values, principles, and scientific ethics. 

"Israel" withholds the bodies of the martyrs as a part of its policy to avoid autopsies that would expose the IOF's heinous crimes. #Palestine pic.twitter.com/uL9QzG41UF

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 16, 2022

The Palestinian prime minister called on international universities to boycott the Israeli universities involved in seizing the bodies.

He called for pressure on the Israeli occupation government to stop violating the bodies of the martyrs and to release all the held bodies so that their families can bid them farewell in a manner that befits them and respects their feelings.

According to the coordinator of the national campaign to retrieve the bodies of the martyrs, Hussein Shujaiya, "Israel" has held 104 bodies since 2015, in addition to 256 bodies in private cemeteries for many years.

Withheld bodies: "Israel's" brutality 

The practice of Israeli occupation confiscating and withholding Palestinian bodies violates international humanitarian law and international human rights law, which include absolute prohibitions on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and require parties to bury the deceased in an honorable manner. For Palestinian families, the practice amounts to collective punishment, which is also prohibited by international humanitarian law.

Adding insult to injury, the occupation imposes one of the most serious restrictions by obstructing any autopsy of the remains. 

Furthermore, the Israeli occupation holds Palestinian bodies in freezing conditions for months, denigrating their condition, and making it more difficult for medical examiners to investigate the causes of death. 

As a consequence, it becomes extremely difficult to conduct evidence-based investigations into unlawful killings and excessive use of force against Palestinians, most notably children killed by Israeli occupation forces.