The occupation forces a family in Jenin to exhume and move their son's grave at gunpoint

Israeli occupation forces, on Friday evening, committed a new violation against Palestinians in the Jenin governorate, northern West Bank, by forcing a family to exhume the grave of their son, who had been buried earlier in the day. This arbitrary measure was taken under the pretext of the cemetery's proximity to an Israeli settlement built on citizens' land, sparking widespread anger and condemnation in local circles.

Local sources reported that a group of extremist settlers initially began digging the grave inside the cemetery of Al-Asa'sa village, in an attempt to forcibly remove the body. Following this, army forces intervened to provide protection for the settlers and directly ordered the family to move the body and bury it in an alternative location away from the borders of the 'Trasala/Sanur' settlement.

This incident comes amid an intense settlement escalation, as Israeli authorities returned settlers to the 'Sanur' settlement last April, nearly two decades after its evacuation as part of the 'disengagement plan' in 2005. Since their return, the pace of incursions and attacks on the towns of Jaba' and Silat ad-Dhahr has increased, turning the lives of residents into continuous daily suffering.

In a related context, violations did not stop at grave desecration but also included threatening Palestinian economic establishments. Occupation authorities notified several commercial shops on the Jenin-Nablus road of demolition. These shops are owned by residents of Jaba' town, and the occupation authorities claim they pose a security obstacle due to their proximity to the recently revived settlement.

Regarding settlement expansion, the Israeli government approved the construction of 126 new settlement units in the 'Sanur' settlement at the end of last April. This decision reflects the Israeli approach to entrenching the settlement presence deep in the West Bank, disregarding all international laws that consider settlements illegal.

In the southern West Bank, specifically in the Hebron governorate, citizen Murad Al-Batat and his child sustained moderate injuries after a brutal attack by settlers in the village of Shuwaika. The attackers used sharp instruments in an assault directly targeting the head, necessitating the immediate transfer of the injured to the hospital for necessary treatment.

Not content with physical assault, the settlers also smashed the windows of citizen Al-Batat's vehicle and caused severe damage to it before withdrawing from the area. These attacks are part of a policy of intimidating Palestinian farmers and preventing them from accessing their lands, a policy pursued by settler groups under the protection of the occupation army.

In the Nablus governorate, sources from the Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village council reported that settlers set fire to the home of citizen Mohammed Al-Khalil, located on the road between Nablus and Ramallah. The deliberate attack caused extensive parts of the house to catch fire before civil defense teams were able to control the blaze and prevent a human catastrophe.

Official Palestinian statistics indicate that the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem have been in a state of turmoil since October 2023, with attacks by the army and settlers resulting in the martyrdom of 1155 Palestinians. Medical teams also recorded injuries to approximately 11,750 others, while the number of detainees has exceeded 22,000 citizens in relentless raid campaigns.

Observers believe that these systematic attacks aim to force Palestinians into forced displacement from their lands to facilitate the implementation of major settlement projects. These moves coincide with statements by Israeli officials promoting expansionist projects that exceed the historical borders of Palestine, threatening regional stability in the West Asia region in general.

Targeting graves and the sanctity of the dead represents the peak of moral degradation in dealing with indigenous populations, which places the international community before its legal responsibilities. Popular resistance in the West Bank continues to confront these schemes, despite the excessive use of military force and the repressive policies pursued by the right-wing occupation government.

The Israeli army arrived at the cemetery and forced the family to exhume the body and move it to be buried in another location, under the pretext of the cemetery's proximity to the settlement.