From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 1, 2025
EU pans Israel for withholding body of Palestinian activist killed by settler, preventing ‘dignified burial’
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The European Union pans Israeli authorities for refusing to release the body of Palestinian activist Awdeh Hathaleen to a “dignified burial” after he was killed on Monday by an Israeli settler sanctioned by the EU over his violent extremism.
Israeli authorities have been demanding that Hathaleen’s family commit to a series of conditions, including not erecting a mourning tent in the area of their home, capping the funeral at 15 people and holding the funeral at night, a lawyer in touch with the family told The Times of Israel.
The family has thus far refused those conditions.
A delegation of EU diplomats visited Hathaleen’s village of Umm al-Khair on Thursday to pay their condolences to his family.
“Since January 2023, over 2,800 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler violence and related coercive practices,” the EU’s mission to the Palestinians posts on X. “In 2025 alone, settlers have reportedly killed 4 Palestinians, including Hathaleen, and injured more than 350.”
The EU says, “Israel must take concrete steps to prevent settler violence against Palestinians and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.”
????German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited the Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank today, following a wave of brutal Israeli settler attacks on the town.
He condemned the violence as organized terrorism and crimes that must be addressed and stopped. pic.twitter.com/c2nuofKYf6
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) August 1, 2025
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who visited the West Bank earlier today, says in a statement afterward that Berlin “is committed to further sanctioning violent settlers. The illegal settlements are a major obstacle to the two-state solution. The policy of settlement construction is clearly contrary to international law.”
Wadephul also says Germany will provide 5 million Euros ($5.78 million) for aid to Gaza through the World Food Programme.
The EU is continuing to provide aid through UN organizations, while calling out the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been the Trump administration’s preference.
“Due to insufficient Israeli security commitments, the UN can currently not provide aid that is desperately needed. This must change,” Wadephul says.
The Times of Israel Community.