A Palestinian family was forced to remove a body from a grave near the settlement of Sha-Nur in the West Bank on Friday after local Israeli settlers began to dig it up, claiming the burial was too close to the Israeli settlement border.

On Friday evening, a Palestinian family held a funeral for a family member who had passed away at over eighty years old. They buried the body in their family plot in a cemetery not far from the new settlement in Sha-Nur, with the ceremony being approved by the security forces.

According to the IDF, settlers from the neighboring settlement arrived shortly after the burial and began digging up the grave to exhume the body. The settlers claimed that the grave was too close to the settlement, and the Palestinian family, noticing the settlers’ actions, quickly tried to prevent the exhumation.

IDF forces were dispatched to the cemetery following reports of a conflict.

Upon their arrival, IDF forces reportedly confiscated digging tools from the Israelis and remained at the scene to prevent further altercations. 

The IDF confirmed in a statement that the settlers were the ones who initially removed the body from the grave. They also noted that when the soldiers arrived at the scene, the body was already outside the grave.

Palestinian sources allege that Israeli soldiers supported the settlers in their actions, ordering the family to relocate the body. However, a military source countered that claim, stating that the soldiers did not interfere with the family’s decision to exhume the body; that decision was ultimately made by the deceased’s family, who transferred the body to an alternative burial site in a nearby village.

The IDF also stated that it condemns any actions that harm public order, the rule of law, and the dignity of individuals, including the deceased. “The issue of coordinating the funeral and managing the event will be investigated by the commanders, and lessons will be drawn accordingly,” it added.