CAIR Condemns Illegal Israeli Settlers’ Forced Desecration of Palestinian Grave, Israel’s Order to Uproot 3,000 Palestinian Trees in Occupied West Bank
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/9/26) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the forced desecration of a Palestinian grave in the occupied West Bank by illegal Israeli settlers.
Reuters reports: “Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank forced Palestinians to exhume the body of their father from his freshly dug village grave, his family said, near a settlement re-established by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.”
CAIR also condemned an order by Israeli authorities to uproot 3,000 Palestinian trees in the occupied West Bank under the direction of far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
According to reports, Smotrich said the operation was intended to advance Israeli control over the land and undermine the prospect of a Palestinian state.
In a statement, Washington, D.C., based CAIR said:
“The forced desecration of a Palestinian grave by illegal settlers is a morally-depraved act that demonstrates the escalating brutality and impunity of the far-right settler movement empowered by the Israeli government. No family should ever be forced to exhume and relocate the remains of a loved one because of extremist intimidation and land theft.
“The planned uprooting of thousands of Palestinian trees is likewise part of a broader campaign to erase Palestinian presence, seize land, and make any viable Palestinian state impossible. These actions violate basic human dignity and international law.
“The Trump administration, Congress and the international community must stop treating these escalating abuses as routine developments and instead hold the Israeli government and violent illegal settlers accountable for ongoing attacks on Palestinian land, lives, and heritage.”
CAIR noted that human rights organizations have long documented attacks by illegal Israeli settlers and the destruction of Palestinian agricultural lands and olive groves in the occupied territories as part of broader efforts tied to ethnic cleansing.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com