“Only Sick and Twisted People Keep Bodies”: Trump Unwittingly Slams Israel’s Policy of Hoarding Palestinian Corpses
US President Donald Trump has once again made headlines with a statement that, unintentionally, criticizes Israel’s long-standing practice of withholding Palestinian dead bodies.
In a recent social media post, Trump lashed out at Hamas and demanded the release of Israeli soldier remains. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies,” he wrote, adding that those who refuse to return corpses are “sick and twisted.”
The irony was lost on him, but not on the rest of the world: Israel is currently holding over 665 Palestinian dead bodies, some for decades, others freshly extracted from the rubble of Gaza.
Israel’s “Sick and Twisted” Policies
Unlike Trump’s impulsive social media posts, Israel’s policy of body-hoarding is deeply institutionalized. The Israeli government openly admits to holding Palestinian corpses as “bargaining chips” for future negotiations. Official statements confirm that the bodies are stored under emergency laws allowing the military to seize, refrigerate, or bury “enemy corpses” in unmarked graves called cemeteries of numbers.
These are not just fighters; women, children, and even detainees who died in Israeli jails are among the hoarded dead. According to rights groups, at least 59 children and 67 detainees are among those whose bodies Israel refuses to release.
The Business of Hoarding Bodies
For decades, Israel has maintained secret cemeteries known as “cemeteries of numbers.” Instead of names, the graves bear only numbers, and the files identifying the deceased are locked away by Israeli security agencies. Since 1967, over 600 documented Palestinian corpses have been buried in these mass graves.
The practice of withholding bodies ramped up significantly after October 7, 2023. Israel has refused to return at least 259 Palestinian bodies since then, with reports suggesting that over 1,500 unidentified corpses from Gaza are currently held in Israeli storage facilities. These include bodies stolen from hospitals, graveyards, and bombed-out buildings. In some cases, Israeli forces have exhumed bodies that families had already buried.
Another war crime unfolding after the Israeli army’s pullout from Jabalia refugee camp: dozens of bodies exhumed from the cemetery of the camp and transported to an unknown destination by the Israeli forces. pic.twitter.com/8vSy8spq2t
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 30, 2024
The Israeli military keeps the corpses in refrigerated containers inside military bases, most notably in Sde Teiman, a notorious military facility in the Negev desert. Reports suggest that some of the bodies have been desecrated or damaged, preventing proper identification and burial.
The international community has long condemned this policy. B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, has called it a form of psychological warfare aimed at punishing Palestinian families. “The practice denies them the right to mourn, to conduct religious rites, or to find closure,” it stated.
