Family Says Settlers Threatened to Dig Up Grave
ASASA, West Bank: A Palestinian family says Israeli settlers forced them to exhume and rebury their father shortly after his burial in the occupied West Bank, sparking outrage and condemnation from human rights groups.
According to Beyond Time News, 80-year-old Hussein Asasa died of natural causes on Friday and was buried the same evening in the village cemetery of Asasa near Jenin. His family said they had obtained all required permits from the Israeli military before the funeral.
However, soon after the burial, villagers informed the family that Israeli settlers had arrived at the cemetery and were demanding that the grave be removed.
Family Forced to Move Body
Hussein Asasa’s son, Mohammed Asasa, said the settlers claimed the land belonged to a nearby settlement and argued that burials were not allowed there.
“We explained that this is the village cemetery and not settlement land,” he said.
The family said the settlers threatened to use a bulldozer to remove the grave if the body was not taken away. Fearing further escalation, relatives decided to exhume the body themselves and move it to another cemetery.
Mohammed Asasa claimed the settlers had already started digging and had reached the body before the family arrived.
Video of Incident Circulates Online
Videos shared on social media appeared to show people digging at the gravesite while settlers watched nearby. The footage also showed individuals carrying away what appeared to be a wrapped body as Israeli troops stood in the area.
According to Beyond Time News, Reuters verified the location as Asasa village in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Military Responds
The Israeli military stated that it had coordinated the funeral and denied ordering the family to rebury the deceased.
Officials said troops were sent to the site after reports of a confrontation involving settlers digging in the area. The military added that soldiers confiscated digging tools from civilians and remained there to prevent further tensions.
The army also said it condemns actions that violate “the dignity of the living and the deceased.”
Read more:EU Moves Toward Sanctions on Israeli Settlers Amid
UN Condemns Incident
The United Nations Human Rights Office strongly criticized the incident.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the OHCHR Palestinian office, described the situation as “appalling” and said it reflected the growing dehumanization of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Settlement Expansion Remains a Major Issue
The incident took place near the Sa-Nur settlement, one of the settlements evacuated in 2005 during Israel’s disengagement plan.
According to Beyond Time News, Israel approved the re-establishment of Sa-Nur last year, and construction work has continued rapidly since then.
The expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank remains one of the most disputed issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians view the territory as part of a future independent state, while Israel cites historical and security concerns.
The United Nations and many countries consider Israeli settlements in territories captured during the 1967 war illegal under international law, though Israel disputes that position.
