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PA security forces open fire at Palestinian funeral in Nablus

March 9, 2023 at 11:12 am

Israeli forces intervene with tear gas against Palestinians in East Jerusalem on March 03, 2023 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]

Palestinian Authority security forces fired tear gas on Tuesday at Palestinians taking part in the funeral of one of six people killed by Israeli occupation forces in Jenin. Israel claimed that the dead man was a Hamas member and responsible for opening fire at the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara.

The victim was identified as Abdul Fattah Kharousheh from Askar refugee camp. His funeral took place in his hometown of Nablus.

At least 10,000 people attended the funeral. Soon after it started, said Al Jazeera, mourners were surrounded by dozens of PA security forces who attacked the procession by firing tear gas and trying to block the route with their vehicles. Witnesses said that the body of Kharousheh was jostled to the ground during the PA attack.

The coordinator of the joint Palestinian factions’ coordination committee in Nablus, Nasr Abu Jaish, announced his resignation on Facebook in response to the PA’s actions.

Hamas called the attack on the procession “a crime and a serious violation of all national and religious values.” The movement called for the punishment of those involved. “Seeing the body of martyr Kharousheh fall to the ground in Nablus brought back the memory of the fall of martyr Shireen Abu Akleh’s body when Israeli occupation forces attacked mourners during her funeral in Jerusalem.”

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also condemned the PA aggression. “Such thuggery is only practiced by those who have turned their backs on our peoples’ resistance,” it said.

READ: Hamas mourns Jenin martyrs and condemns Israeli crimes