Israel Security Establishment Admits Holding 1,700 Palestinian Bodies as Future Bargaining Chips

Israel is reportedly holding around 1,700 Palestinian bodies for possible use as leverage in future negotiations, despite there currently being no living or deceased Israeli captives held in Gaza, according to a report by Haaretz.

The figure emerged from recent discussions within Israel's security establishment, with Haaretz citing two sources familiar with the matter. According to the newspaper, the remains are being retained in case Israelis are taken hostage or go missing in the future. If accurate, the reported position would mean retaining Palestinian remains as potential leverage for negotiations that do not currently exist.

The 1,700 Bodies at the Centre of the Dispute

The reported figure is not a publicly released Israeli government tally. It comes from two unnamed sources cited by Haaretz, making that distinction important when describing the scale of the practice. Most of the remains reportedly belong to Palestinians from Gaza who were involved in the 7 October 2023 attacks or subsequent fighting, according to the newspaper.

But there is a crucial exception. Haaretz reported that some of the bodies belong to Palestinians whose involvement in fighting has not been established. That detail raises additional questions about the legal authority for withholding their remains.

David Zini Backs Future Leverage

At the centre of the reported position is Shin Bet chief David Zini, who Haaretz said supports retaining the Palestinian bodies in case Israelis are captured or go missing in the future. The Israeli military also reportedly supports that position, according to Haaretz.

The rationale, according to the report, is that Palestinian remains could become useful in a future negotiation, meaning returning them now could remove potential leverage if another hostage crisis emerges.

However, the circumstances that previously underpinned Israel's policy have changed. There are currently no living or deceased Israeli captives being held in Gaza, according to recent legal proceedings challenging the continued retention of Palestinian bodies. That makes the reported position particularly significant. The remains would be retained not for an exchange already under way, but for potential future negotiations.

The Legal Question Deepens

The most significant legal question may concern what happens when the person whose body is being held has not been established to have participated in fighting.

Legal sources cited by Haaretz reportedly argued that Israel does not have authority to retain the bodies of Palestinians whose involvement in fighting has not been established without the Security Cabinet first adopting a policy addressing the issue. That raises a fundamental question: under what legal authority can those remains continue to be withheld for possible future negotiating leverage?

The issue has a history inside Israel's legal system. Israel's Supreme Court has previously considered the practice of withholding Palestinian bodies for negotiating purposes and has upheld the state's authority in certain circumstances to retain remains for use in future negotiations.

The court has also considered challenges involving Palestinian families seeking the return of relatives' remains for burial. In a case decided this year, Israeli authorities agreed to return the body of Palestinian citizen Khaled Hassan after concluding there was no legal justification for continuing to withhold it.

That history makes the latest reported position more than a political controversy. It raises the question of how the retention of these bodies fits within Israel's existing legal framework now that no Israeli hostages remain in Gaza.

Why the Policy Matters

For Israeli security officials who support the reported position, the remains may be viewed as potential leverage in a future hostage crisis. For Palestinian families, however, a withheld body means something far more personal. It can mean waiting months or years to recover a relative's remains and hold a burial.

That human cost can become obscured by the language of security and negotiations. The controversy becomes even sharper when the remains reportedly include people whose involvement in fighting was never established. That distinction could become central to future legal challenges over the policy.

A History of Body Exchanges

The practice cannot be separated from the wider history of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Palestinian remains have previously been withheld or returned in connection with negotiations involving Israeli hostages, prisoners or soldiers' remains. That history helps explain why Israeli security officials may regard bodies as strategically significant.

Israel's Supreme Court has also previously upheld the state's ability, under certain circumstances, to withhold Palestinian bodies for negotiating leverage. The policy has repeatedly faced legal challenges from Palestinian families and rights organisations seeking the return of remains for burial.

But the latest report describes a different immediate circumstance. There are no Israeli captives currently being held in Gaza, while the bodies are reportedly being retained in anticipation of possible future captures or disappearances.

In other words, there is currently no hostage exchange requiring the remains, according to the report, but Israeli security officials reportedly want to preserve them as leverage should one arise.

What Happens Next

The immediate question is whether Israel's Security Cabinet will formally address the circumstances under which the remains can continue to be retained, particularly those belonging to Palestinians whose involvement in fighting has not been established.

Any such decision could face scrutiny over the distinction between bodies linked to attacks or fighting and those for whom no such involvement has been established. For now, Haaretz reports that figures within Israel's security establishment believe retaining Palestinian remains could provide leverage if Israelis are captured or go missing in the future. The reported figure of around 1,700 has not been independently confirmed by the Israeli government.

The report therefore leaves a difficult legal and ethical question hanging over the practice: under what circumstances can human remains be retained as potential leverage for negotiations that may never take place?