Israel holding bodies of 19 Palestinians killed in Gaza

Army won’t divulge identity and location of remains, most of which were buried during the war last summer

The bodies or partial remains of 19 Palestinians killed during the past summer’s 50-day war between Israel and Gaza-based armed groups have been buried in undisclosed locations within Israeli territory, Haaretz reported Wednesday.

According to the report, the bodies of 18 Palestinians were buried in Israel on July 23, several days after a deadly battle in the Gaza neighborhood of Shejaiya left seven Golani Brigade soldiers dead, among them Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose remains are believed to still be held by Hamas operatives.

The body of one more Palestinian was buried in Israel in October, the IDF said.

The IDF disclosed the information regarding the 19 Palestinians following a request by Israeli human rights organization HaMoked in October.

The army claimed the identities of the deceased Palestinians were not officially confirmed and provided no information regarding the circumstances of their deaths.

Citing security reasons, the IDF also declined a request by HaMoked to reveal where in the country the 19 bodies had been buried.

The IDF refused to address the reasons behind its decision to hold the bodies in Israel.

The government has in the past returned remains of terrorist fighters held in the country in exchange for the bodies of IDF soldiers held by extremist groups.

On Monday, the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper reported that Israel had asked European officials to serve as mediators in negotiations with Hamas, in a bid to recover the remains of Shaul as well as those of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in a separate incident during fighting in the Strip.

Both Shaul and Goldin were declared dead based on evidence acquired by the army, but their bodies were never recovered by Israel.

Israel has only negotiated directly with President Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, not with the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip.

Backed by the so-called Middle East Quartet of the US, EU, UN and Russia, the Jewish state demands that Hamas recognize Israel, accept previous agreements and renounce terrorism before direct negotiations can take place.