1000s attend funeral of Palestinian youth

Thousands of Palestinians have participated in the funeral of a West Bank youth shot dead by Israeli regime forces outside the Ibrahimi Mosqued in al-Khalil (Hebron) for allegedly stabbing an Israeli soldier.

The funeral procession for 20-year-old Mahmoud Abu Jheisha was held on Sunday at the Amari Mosque in his hometown of Idhna, west of al-Khalil, where relatives and friends paid their final tributes, before his burial at the local cemetery, Ma'an News Agency reported.

Those attending the event reportedly chanted slogans condemning persisting crimes by the Israeli regime forces.

Speaking at his funeral, Abu Jheisha's father Yahya denied that his son had stabbed the Israeli soldier and called on Palestinian authorities to refer his son's shooting death to the International Criminal Court.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, believed to be the burial site of Prophet Abraham, is of religious significance to both Muslims and Jews, and has historically been a flashpoint between Palestinians and Israelis, particularly after a US-born Jewish settler massacred 29 Palestinians inside the mosque in 1994.

Nearly 700 settlers live in 80 homes in the city center of al-Khalil, surrounded by nearly 200,000 Palestinians.

The settlements -- illegal under international law -- are protected by the Israeli regime’s military forces in the tightly controlled city, where many streets are off limits to Palestinians.

MFB/KA/SS

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