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Ziad Abu Ein's funeral held in Ramallah after PA says 'security coordination' will be halted

December 11, 2014 at 3:42 pm

Palestinian Authority minister and member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, Ziad Abu Ein was killed during a non-violent olive tree planting event in the village of Turmusayya near Ramallah on Wednesday. A post-mortem was carried out on Abu Ein’s body last night which according to Palestinian officials proves that Abu Ein died because he was beaten and tear gassed by Occupation forces. Following the post-mortem his body was returned to Ramallah late Wednesday night.

From the early hours of Thursday, mourners gathered at Ramallah hospital were Abu Ein’s body was being kept in preparation for the funeral. Thousands attended the funeral which left the hospital on its way to the al-Muqataa (the Presidential Compound) by mid-morning.

Following the official ceremony inside al-Muqataa thousands joined the funeral procession through Ramallah’s streets towards the Martyr’s cemetery in al-Bireh. Members of Fatah-affiliated armed resistance brigades fired bullets in to the air in a practice that has not been seen openly for some years at funerals in the West Bank.

Following Abu Ein’s killing on Wednesday, the PA’s Jibril Rajoub announced it would halt ‘security coordination’ policies with Israel.

Images by MEMO photographer Rich Wiles.

Note: This item was amended at 12.18 GMT on December 12, 2014 to clarify that the Palestinian Authority had made the announcement to halt security cooperation with Israel. Mahmoud Abbas is yet to make a statement on this.