Israeli settlers force Palestinian family to exhume and re-bury father

UN Condemns Incident in Occupied West Bank

A confrontation between Israeli settlers and a Palestinian family in the occupied West Bank has been condemned by the United Nations as “appalling” and “dehumanizing”. Eighty-year-old Hussein Asasa died of natural causes on Friday, and his body was buried in a cemetery in Asasa village near Jenin. The burial was reportedly coordinated with Israeli security forces, which provided necessary permits.

However, shortly after the burial, settlers threatened the Asasa family, ordering them to exhume the body due to claims that it had been buried on land that formed part of an Israeli settlement. The family complied with the settlers’ demands after they threatened to use a bulldozer to exhume the body themselves. According to reports, Israeli soldiers were present during the confrontation and also pressured the family to bury their loved one elsewhere.

The UN Human Rights Office has condemned the incident, stating that it is “appalling” and " emblematic of the dehumanization of Palestinians". The office’s head, Ajith Sunghay, noted that such incidents are part of a broader pattern of human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories. In recent months, attacks by settlers have surged across the West Bank, with several incidents reported on Friday.

The Israeli military has denied giving reburial instructions to the family, stating that soldiers were sent to the area after receiving reports of a confrontation involving settlers. The military also claimed to have confiscated digging tools from the settlers and remained at the scene to prevent further friction.

Source: Al Jazeera