Palestinians from the village of al-Asaasa held a funeral Friday for a man who was buried, in coordination with security forces, at a cemetery near the Sa-Nur outpost in the northern West Bank.
Shortly afterward, settlers arrived with digging tools and began removing the body from the grave, claiming it had been dug too close to the outpost.
Settlers, soldiers force Palestinians to move body from West Bank grave
Sa-Nur was evacuated 21 years ago as part of Israel’s disengagement plan and was reestablished only last month.
Confrontations broke out at the site, prompting Israeli troops to arrive. According to the military, soldiers confiscated the digging tools from the settlers. In practice, however, the Palestinians were ordered to remove the body from the grave and rebury it elsewhere, despite the burial having been approved and coordinated with security forces.
Footage from the scene showed Palestinians carrying the body after it was removed from the grave, with soldiers and settlers behind them.
The IDF said the funeral had been coordinated in advance with security forces at a Palestinian cemetery near Sa-Nur in the northern West Bank.
“Shortly afterward, IDF forces were dispatched to the cemetery following a report of friction between Israeli civilians who were digging at the site and Palestinians,” the military said.
The IDF said troops confiscated digging tools from the Israelis and remained at the scene to prevent further friction. It said the family later transferred the body for burial in a nearby village.
“The IDF condemns any attempt to act in a way that harms public order, the rule of law and the dignity of the person and the dead,” the military said, adding that the coordination of the funeral and handling of the incident would be reviewed by commanders.