BURQAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Mourners on Saturday attended the funeral of a Palestinian martyred by Zionist settlers in the occupied West Bank, after the UN warned of a dramatic spike in such cases.
The Palestinian health ministry in a statement late Friday announced the death of Qusai Jamal Maatan, 19, saying he was “shot dead by settlers in the village of Burqa”, east of Ramallah.
At the funeral procession, Maatan was wrapped in a black and white keffiyeh head covering and Palestinian flag. Mourners carried his body through the village streets before his burial, said an AFP journalist at the scene.
In a statement Saturday, the Zionist regime’s army cited Palestinian reports and witnesses as saying clashes broke out between Palestinians and Zionists.
“As a result of the confrontation, a Palestinian was killed, four others were injured, and a Palestinian vehicle was found burned,” it said.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Excluding annexed east Al-Quds, the territory is home to nearly three million Palestinians and over 700,000 Zionist who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.
The Palestinian resistance movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad condemned an earlier killing of a young Palestinians man.
Mahmoud Abu Sa’an was shot in the head at point-blank range at dawn on Friday as Zionist troops clashed with residents of the Nur Shams refugee camp, located to the east of the town of Tulkarm.
According to local media reports, the Israeli military stormed the camp, heavily firing live ammunition, tear gas canisters, and stun grenades at the camp’s residents.
The Palestinian teenager was transferred to a hospital in Tulkarm, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
In a press statement, Hamas offered its condolences to the family of Sa’an and praised the resistance fighters for their unrelenting struggle against the Zionist regime.
“We condole the family of the martyr… and salute our steadfast people, and the heroic resistance fighters who bravely defended the camp and repelled the aggression,” the statement said.
Hamas also underlined that killings, executions, assassinations and plans to desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque will not bring security to Israel. “Our people’s revolution continues until the end of the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state with al-Quds as its capital.”