Violent clashes in E. Jerusalem; terrorist’s funeral postponed
Masked protesters hurl stones, firebombs at police forces who respond with riot dispersal means; Hamas urges escalation of violence
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Israeli police clashed with Palestinians across east Jerusalem Saturday ahead of a potentially explosive funeral that was delayed for a day and tight security conditions imposed.
Relatives of Abdel Rahman al-Shaludi, a Hamas activist from Silwan, who ploughed into a Jerusalem crowd on Wednesday, killing a 3-month old baby and injuring eight others, were told to be ready to bury him at an undisclosed time Sunday, their lawyer said.
The internment, near Jerusalem’s Old City walls, will take place at some time between 11:00 am (0900 GMT) and midnight, and only 20 mourners will be permitted to attend and they will have to submit their names to police in advance, attorney Mohammed Mahmud said in a statement Saturday.
A crowd was reportedly gathering at al-Shaludi’s Silwan home.
From outside the house of the martyr AbdulRahman in #Silwan in #Jerusalem #AlAqsaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/kAV7PsdY4Q
— I Stand With #Gaza (@Palestinier92) October 25, 2014
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Al-Shaludi was originally set to be buried at a Muslim cemetery near the Old City’s Lions’ Gate at 10 p.m. after a court authorized a service to be attended by a maximum of 80 people, for fear the event could turn into a violent protest.
Security forces were on high alert Saturday ahead of the expected funeral, as several riots broke out across East Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Late Saturday night, Border Policemen arrested a masked Palestinian in Silwan as he threw rocks at security forces.
In At-Tur on the Mount of Olives, masked Palestinians blocked the road with garbage bins, and threw stones and firebombs, a police statement said. One person was injured in the incident.
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Near the Shuafat refugee camp, stones were throne at the Jerusalem light rail, a frequent target. Police said a carriage window was damaged but no one was hurt.
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The riots were taking place for the third consecutive day Saturday.
Earlier in the day, protesters in Silwan hurled stones and firecrackers at a municipal tractor sent in to clear the roads of stones and debris thrown at police a day earlier. Security forces used riot dispersal means to clear the small-scale riot.
Police said Saturday they had arrested four suspects in East Jerusalem who were believed to have taken part in riots in Jerusalem’s Old City. The four were taken for questioning.
Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahar urged Palestinians in East Jerusalem on Saturday to rise up against Israel and continue “resisting.”
“The escalation [of violence] in the city is the solution to ‘Israeli aggression,'” he said, according to a report on Channel 10.
Al-Zahar added that the security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank was “quelling the intifada against the [Israeli] ‘aggression.'”
“West Bankers are fighting on two fronts. One against the occupation and one against the [PA’s] security forces,” he said.
Services for a Palestinian teenager, a US citizen, who was shot and killed by IDF troops Friday in the West Bank village of Silwad is set for Sunday, to allow his father time to travel from the United States where he is a resident citizen.
Hamas had called to avenge the killing of 14-year-old Orwa Abd El-Wahab Hammad, who was shot by IDF troops after he attempted to hurl a Molotov cocktail at traffic on Highway 60, in the West Bank, according to the IDF.
“The forces fired immediately to neutralize the danger… and confirmed a hit,” an IDF spokeswoman told AFP.
Another 12 Palestinians were wounded in clashes on Friday in Issawiya Wadi Joz and Silwan, a hospital official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media.
Prison Service Commissioner Aharon Franko, who was formerly the head of police’s Jerusalem District, told Ynet News the recent uptick in violence in the city could not be quelled by force alone.
“Jerusalem is a very sensitive city,” he said. “It’s not possible to stop the violence occurring today with force alone… The instructions are to hold talks with the leadership. To speak with the representatives of the residents and with the parents whose children are detained. This is being done by the (police) commanders.”
Tensions flared in the capital Thursday in the wake of a Wednesday terrorist attack on a Jerusalem light rail station in which three-month-old Chaya Zissel Braun was killed and eight others were injured.
Jerusalem’s mayor called for a crackdown against the wave of Palestinian unrest. In a Thursday interview, Mayor Nir Barkat said the violence had become intolerable, and he vowed to restore order.
Tensions have been high since June, when three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed by Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank. Jewish extremists retaliated by kidnapping and killing a Palestinian teenager in east Jerusalem, sparking riots. The kidnappings set off a series of events that led to the 50-day Gaza war.
The Times of Israel Community.