By Staff Reporter
HARARE – Palestine’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tamer Almassri, has strongly condemned what he described as escalating brutality by Israeli settlers and security forces in the occupied West Bank, following reports that a Palestinian family was allegedly forced to exhume the body of their 80-year-old father from a freshly dug grave in their own village.
The ambassador described the incident involving the late Hussein Asasa as a “harrowing act of barbarity” and said it reflected the growing levels of violence and intimidation being faced by Palestinians living under occupation.
According to Ambassador Almassri, the family had obtained all the necessary permits for the burial, yet Israeli settlers allegedly intervened and forced them to remove the body from the grave, an act he said demonstrated the systematic humiliation and dehumanisation of Palestinians.
“This heinous act is a clear example of the extreme measures that Israeli settlers are willing to take to assert dominance over the Palestinian population,” he said.
“It is a stark reminder of the systematic dehumanisation of Palestinians unfolding across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, sparing neither the living nor the dead.”
The remarks come amid rising tensions and increasing violence in the occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October 2023. Palestinian officials and international human rights organisations have reported a sharp increase in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, including killings, assaults, destruction of property and forced displacement of families from their homes.
Ambassador Almassri said the actions of Israeli settlers were being enabled by the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which he accused of accelerating illegal settlement expansion while emboldening armed settlers and soldiers.
He said the continued expansion of settlements and violence against Palestinians posed a growing threat to Palestinian livelihoods, security and the prospects for peace in the region.
“Netanyahu’s fascist government, which opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, continues to accelerate illegal settlement building and empower settlers and soldiers to commit violence against Palestinians,” he said.
The ambassador also expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where thousands of civilians have been killed or injured since the conflict escalated in 2023.
According to figures cited by Palestinian authorities, the death toll from the Israeli military offensive in Gaza has risen to 72,740, while more than 172,000 people have been injured. Thousands more are believed to remain trapped beneath rubble following widespread destruction across the territory.
Ambassador Almassri called on the international community, including the United Nations and global human rights bodies, to take stronger action against Israel and hold its government accountable for alleged violations of international law.
“The international community has a moral obligation to condemn these actions and hold the Israeli government accountable for its crimes,” he said.
“The continued impunity reflects the failure of the international community to take decisive action to protect Palestinian civilians and uphold international law.”
