BBC: West Bank Palestinian Forced by Settlers to Exhume His Father's Body
Drawing on the testimony of a Palestinian family in the West Bank, the BBC reported that settlers raided a village after a funeral and forced relatives to reopen the freshly dug grave of the head of the family. The UN Human Rights Office condemned the incident.
In a report published by the BBC, a Palestinian family said that a group of settlers arrived at a village near Halhul in the southern West Bank after a funeral and forced relatives to dig up the body of the father. The family told the broadcaster the incident lasted several hours, and that Israeli security forces were present at the scene.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the incident as "appalling and emblematic of the dehumanisation of Palestinians" in the West Bank. The Israeli military said it had opened an investigation, but has not yet specified the steps being taken.
The Palestinian Authority said it would raise the case through international mechanisms, and the European Union and several Gulf states also issued statements of concern. The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the region following last month's EU sanctions decision targeting violent settlers.
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