A Palestinian family in the occupied West Bank was forced by Israeli settlers, reportedly under military protection, to exhume their father's grave and rebury him elsewhere. The United Nations condemned the act as “appalling and dehumanizing.”

Hussein Asasa, 80, died of natural causes on Friday and was buried in a cemetery in Asasa village near Jenin. His son Mohammed said the burial was coordinated in advance with Israeli security forces, who provided all necessary permits.

Shortly after the burial, settlers threatened the family, ordering them to dig up the body, claiming the grave was on land belonging to an Israeli settlement. Under international law, such settlements are illegal and not recognized as Israeli territory.

Mohammed Asasa stated: “They said the land was for settlement and burial was not allowed. We told them this is the village's cemetery, not part of the settlement.” The settlers threatened to use a bulldozer to exhume the body themselves.

According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli soldiers were present during the confrontation and also pressured the family to bury their loved one elsewhere. The Israeli military denied giving reburial instructions, saying soldiers were sent after reports of a settler confrontation and confiscated digging tools.

The UN Human Rights Office condemned the incident. Ajith Sunghay, head of the OHCHR Palestinian office, said: “This is appalling and emblematic of the dehumanization of Palestinians that we see unfolding across the OPT. It spares no one, dead or alive.”

Settler attacks have surged since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. On Friday, settlers carried out several attacks across the West Bank, assaulting a child and setting homes and cars on fire.

In February, Amnesty International warned that global impunity is fueling Israel's illegal annexation of the West Bank. The rights group accused Israel of “brazenly” expanding its illegal settlements.

Source: www.aljazeera.com