Egypt on Monday condemned Israeli policies concerning Palestinian
prisoners in light of the death of Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jadarat
in Israeli custody over the weekend, Kuwait News Agency KUNA reported.
In
a press release, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr warned that the
continuation of Israeli policies will lead to an explosion of the
situation in the region, according to the report.
KUNA cited
Amr as saying he holds Israel responsible for any deterioration of the
situation and calling on the international community to take a firm
stance against Israel's "inhuman practices against the Palestinian
prisoners.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas responded Monday to the
round of violence that broke out following the recent death of Jadarat. Abbas accused Israel of deliberately killing
Palestinian children, in order to "sow anger" among the Palestinians.
"The death of young Arafat Jadarat shall not pass easily," Army Radio quoted the Palestinian leader as saying.
Hundreds
of Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli security forces in the West
Bank, earlier Monday, following the funeral of Jadarat who died Saturday
in Israeli custody.
Some reports claimed that around 25,000
Palestinians had turned out for Jaradat's funeral, as his body was
carried to his home village of Sa’ir from a hospital in nearby Hebron.
At Rachel's Tomb, near Bethlehem, some 150 Palestinians hurled
Molotov cocktails and rocks at IDF soldiers, who responded with riot
dispersal means on Monday. Rioters also hurled improvised grenades,
which endangered the lives of worshipers at the scene, security sources
said.
The IDF confirmed that a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot in the head by a rubber bullet earlier in the day. He was treated by an IDF doctor before he was transferred to Hadassah Ein-Karem. They noted that he was part of a group of Palestinians who was trying to set the guard tower by Rachel's Tomb on fire.
Another Palestinian seen hurling the grenade was shot in the
leg using 0.22 caliber bullets, which is considered to be less dangerous
by the IDF, and used after non-lethal anti-riot means such as tear gas
has been used, the sources added. The grenade thrower was lightly
injured.
In the Hebron
region, some 200 Palestinians rioted, throwing Molotov cocktails, rocks,
and and firecrackers at soldiers. The army responded with non-lethal
riot dispersal means, being directing 0.22 caliber bullets at the legs
of a ring leader, according to security sources. The ring leader was
lightly injured and taken to hospital.
In Beitunya, near the Ofer
Prison, some 500 Palestinians took part in a violent disturbance.
Soldiers dispersed that riot as well. Six Palestinians were lightly
injured in the clashes, and a soldier was very lightly wounded by a
rock, receiving medical treatment on the scene.
Also Monday,
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a security evaluation meeting with the
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, as well as with the OC Central
Command, MAj.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, and the deputy police chief, Cmdr.
Yisrael Yitzhak.
The head of the Israel Prisons Service, Aharon Franco, was also in attendance.
The meeting focused on the wave of violence in the West Bank, and ways to calm the area down.
Thirty-year-old Jaradat was arrested last week for throwing stones at
Israeli cars in the West Bank, and died at Megiddo Prison four days
later.
The Palestinian Authority claims that Jaradat, whose
official cause of death was listed as a cardiac arrest, died as a result
of brutal torture during interrogation. Israel says Jaradat’s autopsy,
carried out in Tel Aviv in the presence of a Palestinian coroner,
revealed no signs of violence, and that the trauma caused to his body
came from the medical emergency team’s efforts to resuscitate him after
he collapsed. The autopsy listed bruising on his shoulder, chest and
elbows, as well as fractures of two of his right ribs.
IDF and
Border Police forces had been on high alert Monday ahead of the funeral,
and used riot dispersal measures to clear the area.
Jaradat’s
death triggered protests in the West Bank on Sunday, with hundreds of
Palestinians taking to the streets and clashing with IDF soldiers.
Clashes were also reported in Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem,
Palestinian sources said, adding that at least 36 Palestinians were
wounded during confrontations with soldiers.
Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report