Palestinian protesters burned tires and threw firebombs and stones at the IDF in
the West Bank village of A-Ram on Saturday after a funeral procession there for
one of its residents, Talat Ramia, 25.
The IDF fatally shot Ramia during
a similar clash in A-Ram on Friday evening. That violence was sparked by a riot
Friday morning on the Temple Mount, where 11 police officers were lightly
injured and 10 protesters were arrested.
A military investigation of the
shooting has been opened.
Also on Friday evening, dozens of protesters
threw rocks at border police and policemen and burned tires in the east
Jerusalem neighborhood of Isawiya. Police used stun grenades to disperse the
protesters, one of whom was arrested.
A similar riot broke out in
Kalandiya, near A-Ram.
According to an IDF spokesman, Ramia was shot
during a demonstration in which a firecracker had been thrown at soldiers. The
soldier who fired the shot believed he was in imminent danger, the spokesman
said.
Ramia was taken to Ramallah Hospital at about 7 p.m., immediately
after he was shot, and was pronounced dead at around 8 p.m., according to
Jonathan Pollak, a spokesman for the Popular Struggle Coordination
Committee.
On Saturday morning in A-Ram, thousands marched next to his
body, which was draped in a Palestinian flag and held aloft.
Some 40
Palestinians suffered from tear-gas inhalation and rubber-bullet wounds during
the violent clashes after the funeral, according to a Palestinian medical
official.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned the IDF and
said he held it fully responsible for “for this crime.” He added that the
world’s inaction had contributed to the death.
“In the past we have
warned the international community, especially the Quartet, on more than one
occasion about the dangers of remaining silent visa- vis Israel’s policy of
using violence against non-violent protests by our people,” he said.
An
Israeli official said in response, “It appears that some Palestinian leaders
believe that throwing rocks and petrol bombs is a form of peaceful
protest.”
An IDF video from Saturday shows Palestinian protesters, some
with masked faces, hurling objects at soldiers as smoke from burning tires
billowed through the air.
Separately on Friday, a rally was held on the
Palestinian side of Hebron by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, the
Hebron Defense Committee and Tarabut – The Arab-Jewish Movement for Social and
Political change.
The IDF fired tear gas canisters at the activists,
lightly wounding 13, including MK Muhammad Barakei (Hadash), who suffered a leg
injury.
The rally marked the 18th anniversary of the February 25, 1994,
Baruch Goldstein massacre of 29 Palestinian worshipers in the Cave of the
Patriarchs.
Protesters also called on the IDF to fully open Hebron’s
Shuhada Street to Palestinian pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
Since 2000,
Palestinians have had limited access to the street, which is located on the
Israeli side of Hebron.
Melanie Lidman and Khaled Abu Toameh contributed
to this report.