Thousands attend the funeral of murdered Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir
- 10 years ago
In Jerusalem, thousands of mourners gathered to join the funeral procession of murdered Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir.
He was buried on Friday afternoon in a ceremony scheduled to follow the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The funeral took place near the family’s home in the Shuafat district in East Jerusalem.
Prior to the funeral, Mohammed’s body was carried for burial through Jerusalem, wrapped in a Palestinian flag.
Mourners following the procession could be heard chanting, referring to Mohammed Abu Khdeir as a “martyr”. Among the chants we could hear “With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you martyr.”
The family also set up a large tent outside the home for those wanting to pay their condolences.
The sixteen-year-old was abducted from outside his father’s shop on Wednesday. His burned remains were found in a forest a few hours after he went missing.
In-keeping with Islamic tradition, Mohammed’s family wanted to bury him straight away and his funeral was due to take place on Thursday. But it was delayed due to a problem with the post mortem examination and being able to formally identify the remains.
Clashes
The incident sparked two days of clashes between masked Palestinians and Israeli police.
Security surrounding the funeral was tight, with thousands of Israeli forces deployed to oversee the procession.
While the police have not confirmed a motive for the killing, some believe it is a revenge attack for the recent murders of three Israeli teenagers in Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
This has drawn international condemnation, with both the US and UN condemning the sixteen-year-old’s abduction and murder.
US Secretary of State John Kerry called it “sickening” while the UN demanded justice over the “despicable act”.
The brutal murder has also infuriated Palestinians and there are fears further clashes will take place in the aftermath of the funeral.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Jewish settlers of carrying out the murder. He called for the “strongest punishment against the murderers if [Israel] truly wants peace.”
The family of one of the three murdered Israeli teenagers also issued a statement condemning the latest killing.
“If the Arab youth was murdered because of nationalistic motives, then this is a horrible and horrendous act,” the statement from the family of Naftali Frenkel said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres called for inciting hatred to stop after a wave of anti-Arab rhetoric on social media.
Potential ceasefire
Meanwhile there are media reports of a possible truce between Israel and the militant group Hamas, after a week of rocket fire into southern Israel and retaliatory air strikes against Gaza.
Neither side has commented on the potential ceasefire, but it is believed to be an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement.
Three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel just after dawn on Friday. One was shot down by the Iron Dome system and two fell into open fields.
He was buried on Friday afternoon in a ceremony scheduled to follow the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The funeral took place near the family’s home in the Shuafat district in East Jerusalem.
Prior to the funeral, Mohammed’s body was carried for burial through Jerusalem, wrapped in a Palestinian flag.
Mourners following the procession could be heard chanting, referring to Mohammed Abu Khdeir as a “martyr”. Among the chants we could hear “With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you martyr.”
The family also set up a large tent outside the home for those wanting to pay their condolences.
The sixteen-year-old was abducted from outside his father’s shop on Wednesday. His burned remains were found in a forest a few hours after he went missing.
In-keeping with Islamic tradition, Mohammed’s family wanted to bury him straight away and his funeral was due to take place on Thursday. But it was delayed due to a problem with the post mortem examination and being able to formally identify the remains.
Clashes
The incident sparked two days of clashes between masked Palestinians and Israeli police.
Security surrounding the funeral was tight, with thousands of Israeli forces deployed to oversee the procession.
While the police have not confirmed a motive for the killing, some believe it is a revenge attack for the recent murders of three Israeli teenagers in Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
This has drawn international condemnation, with both the US and UN condemning the sixteen-year-old’s abduction and murder.
US Secretary of State John Kerry called it “sickening” while the UN demanded justice over the “despicable act”.
The brutal murder has also infuriated Palestinians and there are fears further clashes will take place in the aftermath of the funeral.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Jewish settlers of carrying out the murder. He called for the “strongest punishment against the murderers if [Israel] truly wants peace.”
The family of one of the three murdered Israeli teenagers also issued a statement condemning the latest killing.
“If the Arab youth was murdered because of nationalistic motives, then this is a horrible and horrendous act,” the statement from the family of Naftali Frenkel said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres called for inciting hatred to stop after a wave of anti-Arab rhetoric on social media.
Potential ceasefire
Meanwhile there are media reports of a possible truce between Israel and the militant group Hamas, after a week of rocket fire into southern Israel and retaliatory air strikes against Gaza.
Neither side has commented on the potential ceasefire, but it is believed to be an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement.
Three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel just after dawn on Friday. One was shot down by the Iron Dome system and two fell into open fields.