1000s hold funeral for Palestinian man killed by Israelis

Thousands of people have attended a funeral procession for a Palestinian man who was shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

The mourners marched on Wednesday from the Ramallah governmental hospital to the house of Ahmed Riyad Abd al-Aziz Shehada in the city of Beitunia.

Shehada’s body was taken to a mosque in the Qalandiya refugee camp for funeral prayers and was later transported to the al-Shuhada (Martyrs) Cemetery.

Shehada, 36, was fatally shot on Tuesday after he allegedly rammed his vehicle into three Israeli troopers near the illegal Israeli settlement of Dolev northwest of Ramallah.

The Israelis were reportedly wounded, one gravely, in the incident, and were transported to a hospital in the occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem).

According to witnesses, Israel forces fired several rounds at Shehada and prevented Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances from accessing the scene to treat the victim.

Abu Malek, Shehada’s brother, denounced the “execution” of his brother, saying the Israeli troops could have detained him instead of killing him.

The occupied territories have been the scene of heightened tensions since August 2015, when Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

The Palestinians say the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the status quo of the holy Muslim site.

More than 210 Palestinians, including children and women, have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in what is regarded as the third Palestinian Intifada (uprising) since the beginning of last October.

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