The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) salutes national efforts that forced the Zionist occupier to submit to popular will and release the remains of martyred hero Mashour al-Aruri, head of the bold military action of the DFLP, “Lina al-Nabulsi.” His body had been held for 34 years in Israel’s Numeric Cemetery.

In an official statement from its Political Bureau, the DFLP affirms that it will continue work through the National Campaign to Recover the Remains of Detained Martyrs in order to achieve the noble human and national objective that will be a part of the process of our people’s struggle until we achieve freedom, independence and the return of our lands.

In its statement, the DFLP points out that Mashour was killed on May 18, 1976, in the Jordan Valley along with two other heroes of the Democratic Front (Hafed Abu Zant, a son of the city of Nablus; and Khalid Abu Ziad from Al-Bassa, a town close to Akka) during a long and intense battle against the forces of the occupying army.

The three combatants were among the vanguard in taking the path in the modern revolution, and with their blood they drenched that path in the struggle for the sacred right of the Palestinian people to create their sovereign state.

In honor of the courage of martyr Mashour Al-Aruri, and in consideration of his sacrifice and the suffering of his family, relatives and comrades, the Political Bureau of the Democratic Front decided to consider the years during which his body was held as being part of the active military service that he completed, thus earning him the rank of colonel.

The DFLP considers the release of the remains of Colonel Mashour Al-Aruri a great achievement. Moreover, this demonstrates the certainty and importance of the popular struggle in forcing the Israeli occupiers to respect the rights of martyrs and prisoners, in addition to the Geneva Agreements. This struggle that culminated with the surrender of the remains of Mashour opens the road to subsequent steps with the aim of guaranteeing the release of the bodies of 317 other martyrs still being held in the Numeric Cemeteries, in addition to forcing to the Zionist State to reveal the fate of numbers of missing Palestinians.

The DFLP calls upon the people and all its forces to participate in the act that will be carried out to honor and bid farewell to martyred Colonel Al-Aruri, and it calls for support and participation in the National Campaign to Recover the Remains of the Martyrs. It also directs itself to all fighters for freedom and justice in the world and to human rights defense organizations and institutions to begin a campaign to pressure the Zionist authorities to cease its violations of international law. This will advocate for the remains of the Palestinian martyrs being respected according to what was established in the Geneva Agreements, their bodies being immediately delivered to their families for their proper burial according to their religious and human traditions, as well as demanding the permanent elimination of the shameful Numeric Cemeteries.


Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
State of Palestine
August 12, 2010