“Listen to this story:

Hussein Essa Essa died yesterday and was buried in the village cemetery south of Jenin. Settlers arrived and began digging up the grave to exhume the body. The army arrived to help the settlers, of course, and forced the deceased man’s family to remove the body and bury it elsewhere — on the grounds that it was about 300–400 meters from the Sha-Nor settlement, while the settlers were throwing stones at the family carrying the body.

Many historians point out that the desecration of graves in the 1940s was not a ‘marginal act’ but part of a mechanism of dehumanization:

‘Violating the dead was also intended to break the living.’”

“I spoke with Atef Essaessa, head of the al-Essaessa village, who told me:

‘This is our cemetery. The army forces us to coordinate every burial, and that is what we did this time as well. Everything had been approved. Fifteen minutes after we finished, many settlers arrived and began digging into the grave to remove the body. Villagers came to the site. The army was present and did nothing to prevent the settlers from carrying out this horrific act. We were forced to take the body elsewhere, and behind us were soldiers and settlers, while the settlers shouted, “This is our land.”’

— Ahmad Tibi (@Ahmad_tibi)”

Shocking incident in the northern West Bank: settlers, under the protection of an IDF force, forced Palestinians to remove a Palestinian’s body from a grave — claiming it had been buried too close to the settlement of Sa-Nur; after an investigation, it turned out that the burial had been coordinated in advance. The IDF condemned the incident and confirmed: we confiscated digging tools from the Israelis who were digging near the grave.

Several settlers from the settlement of Sa-Nur (which was officially re-established on the ground only in recent weeks) identified a Palestinian burial taking place near the settlement.

According to Palestinian claims — which were mostly confirmed and verified by security officials — the settlers arrived at the site with digging tools in order to dig around the grave area. Later, when Palestinians arrived at the scene, the settlers demanded that they remove the deceased from his grave and bury him elsewhere, because the burial had taken place too close to the Israeli settlement.

A preliminary IDF investigation paints a rather serious picture: an IDF force was present at the scene but did not intervene in the incident, and after a verbal confrontation between the sides, the Palestinians were forced to transfer the body for burial elsewhere in a nearby village.

After an IDF review, it became clear that the burial of the Palestinian in that location had been coordinated and approved in advance with the military.

Footage from the scene shows the digging of the grave and the removal of the body in the presence of the settlers, as well as its transfer to another location.

The IDF spokesperson stated in response:

‘Yesterday (Friday), a funeral took place in a Palestinian cemetery near the settlement of Sa-Nur in the Samaria Brigade area, coordinated in advance with the security forces. Shortly afterward, IDF forces were dispatched to the cemetery following reports of friction between Israeli civilians digging in the area and Palestinians. Upon arrival, the forces confiscated digging tools from the Israelis and remained at the site to prevent further clashes. Later, the family transferred the body to an alternative burial site in a nearby village.

The IDF condemns any attempt to act in a manner that harms public order, the rule of law, and the dignity of both the living and the dead. The issue of the funeral coordination and the management of the incident will be investigated by commanders, and lessons will be learned accordingly.’