Los Angeles Times · Los Angeles, California · 12 October 2021
CP-2021-006
Palestinian just wants his son's body back
Israel's practice of holding on to remains is a form of collective punishment, human rights groups argue
Jack Jeffery, The Associated Press, Abu Dis, West Bank
Transcribed from the clipping
ABU DIS, West Bank — More than a year after his son was killed by Israeli forces under disputed circumstances in the occupied West Bank, Mustafa Erekat is still seeking his remains.
It is one of dozens of cases in which Israel is holding the remains of Palestinians killed in conflict, citing the need to deter attacks and potentially exchange them for the remains of two Israeli soldiers held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians and human rights groups view the practice of holding bodies as a form of collective punishment that inflicts further suffering on bereaved families… “They always go along with the military’s demands,” Aliyan told the Associated Press. “They are afraid to take any decision against them.”
Cite this clipping
"Palestinian just wants his son's body back," Los Angeles Times, 12 October 2021, p. 1. Covering Palestine archive, CP-2021-006. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-2021-006
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Last updated 2 November 2026
This record is part of Covering Palestine, an archive of American newspaper clippings about Palestinians, 1724 to 2023. Researched and assembled by Maria Robles.
The clipping belongs to the newspaper that printed it, or to the news agency that supplied the copy. It is reproduced here for research, criticism and commentary. A city here is where the newspaper was published, not where the story came from, and on most records it was taken from the masthead.
Something wrong here, or something you know about this clipping? The archive is still being built and corrections are wanted: maria@rozumstudio.com, quoting CP-2021-006.
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