The Popular National Campaign (the “Campaign”), launched by the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (the “Center”) and in cooperation and partnership with the Arabic Media Internet Network, urges the Government of Israel and its Authorities (“Israel”) to release the bodies of Palestinian and Arab victims of the occupation withheld at the Cemetery of Numbers and other morgues, in order for their family members and loved ones to pay them their last respects and conduct customary burials in accordance with religious rites and national traditions. The Campaign also urges Israel to determine the missing persons they have denied in possession of.

In order to achieve this humanitarian goal, the Campaign is mobilizing local, regional, and international public opinion to pressure the Israeli government to adhere to international human rights laws and Article 17 of the Geneva Convention. Article 17 obliges contracting states to respect war victims and to ensure they are honorably interred by family members and loved ones according to their religious rites and national traditions.

The Campaign welcomes the cooperation of all organizations and legal institutions concerned in defending humanitarian rights, and to undertake political activities and diplomatic efforts to advance the campaign’s objectives. We urge all media centers to continuously publicize all cases undertaken by the Campaign.

The Campaign will assist and support the families of victims by disseminating information, organizing conferences and meetings, sending delegations to Palestinian decision makers, and requesting the legitimate case of “Releasing Withheld Bodies of War Victims and Acknowledging their Destiny”. Since the Campaign is a national priority, we urge Palestinian politicians and decision makers to actively lobby international delegations and demand from their governments to pressure Israel to respect international humanitarian laws. We also demand that the Palestinian National Authority meet and pressure diplomatic missions, UN organizations, and legal bodies to guarantee common respect for universal human rights embedded in international human rights treaties such as the First Geneva Convention.

To include all stakeholders in the Campaign, the Center will hold several discussion groups and meetings for the victim’s families to voice their opinions and concerns. The Center will also elect a few representatives from the victim’s families to be part of the Campaign. All actions of the Center and the victim’s family members are driven by a common objective and the success of the Campaign will depend largely on the cooperative relationship between these two groups.

Moreover, the Campaign will resort to Israeli courts to help achieve this objective. We greatly appreciate everyone’s efforts and contributions.