Forensic experts prepared to examine the bodies of Palestinians handed over by Israel the previous day, in front of the morgue at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, on January 30, 2026. OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP
Abdul Rahman Mari's three sons, aged 6, 9 and 11, sat quietly on the family sofa with their grandmother, Aziza, 62, in the small town of Qarawat Bani Hassan in the northern West Bank. In silence, they listened as she told the story of their father, who died in November 2023 at age 34 in an Israeli prison after seven months of pre-trial detention. He had been accused of firing on settlers with a hunting rifle, a charge he denied. Two detainees described the artisan's final moments – to both the family and the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, saying he was likely beaten to death by his jailers in the neighboring cell.
Rahman Mari's family was not allowed a funeral. He was never buried. For the past 26 months, Israeli authorities have withheld his body, citing "security" reasons. "The children ask where their father is, they ask where his body is," his grandmother choked out. "We do not have the courage to ask for him again because we are afraid of the occupying army," she continued.
