Clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians erupted on Saturday, at the funeral of a 13-year-old killed by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank.
Hundreds of Palestinians had gathered to mourn the death of Ali Abu Alia in the Almugayer village, where the Palestinian youth was hit in the stomach and died later at a hospital Friday.
Dozens of people threw stones toward Israeli forces and set tires aflame during the gathering. Israeli soldiers responded with intermittent barrages of tear gas.
Relatives mourn the body of a 13-year-old Ali Abu Alia who was shot dead by Israeli military forces during clashes with a stone-throwing Palestinains during his funeral in al-Mughair village near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP PhotoMajdi Mohammed)
Late Friday, the top U.N. political envoy in the region said he was “appalled” by the killing of the teen. Israel should “swiftly" and independently “investigate this shocking and unacceptable incident,” Nikolay Mladenov wrote on Twitter.
Commenting on the death, the Israeli military said “dozens of rioters” hurled rocks at Israeli soldiers and border police, who responded with “riot dispersal means.” It denied that its forces used live ammunition.
Clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces entering Palestinian-controlled areas of the occupied West Bank are common. The military often raids Palestinian towns to arrest people suspected of planning or taking part in attacks.
Relatives mourn the body of a 13-year-old Ali Abu Alia who was shot dead by Israeli military forces during clashes with a stone-throwing Palestinains during his funeral in al-Mughair village near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP PhotoMajdi Mohammed)
Tensions are also high around the Israeli settlements. Over 400,000 settlers live in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war.
Palestinians attend the funeral of a 13-year-old Ali Abu Alia who was shot dead by Israeli military forces during clashes with a stone-throwing Palestinains, al-Mughair village near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP PhotoMajdi Mohammed)
Relatives mourn the body of a 13-year-old Ali Abu Alia who was shot dead by Israeli military forces during clashes with a stone-throwing Palestinains during his funeral in al-Mughair village near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP PhotoMajdi Mohammed)