News / Palestine

Funeral held for Palestinian youth killed by Israeli soldier

Saturday, 28 May 2016 3:23 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 28 May 2016 4:57 PM ]

Relatives and friends chant slogans during the funeral of Abdul Fattah al-Sharif, a wounded Palestinian who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in late March, on May 28, 2016. ©AFP

Hundreds have attended a funeral for a young Palestinian, who was filmed being shot dead by an Israeli soldier in March in a brutal killing that sparked harsh criticism against the Israeli military.

The funeral ceremony was held on Saturday a day after the regime in Tel Aviv returned Abdul Fattah al-Sharif’s body to his family.

Mourners carried Sharif’s body through the streets of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the occupied West Bank and chanted anti-Israel slogans.

The victim's body was taken to al-Ahli hospital in al-Khalil, where Palestinian doctors examined it and collected pathological information on his gunshot wounds and death conditions.

On March 24, a video clip went viral showing an Israeli soldier shooting an already wounded Palestinian man in the head as he lay on the ground. Before being killed, he had been shot and injured by other Israeli soldiers over an alleged stabbing attack.

Relatives and friends chant slogans during the funeral of Abdul Fattah al-Sharif, a wounded Palestinian who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in late March, on May 28, 2016. ©AFP

The deliberate execution-style killing of Sharif was caught on video by a bystander.

After the video emerged, the Israeli soldier was indicted on charges of manslaughter and inappropriate military conduct, rather than the more severe charge of murder.

He is now being held pending trial in open detention at a military base. However, Palestinians say the authorities in Tel Aviv will not give the soldier the due punishment.

The United Nations described the killing as an “apparent extrajudicial execution” and said it was “a gruesome, immoral and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation.”

Tensions have been running high between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters in the occupied territories since last October.

Palestinians say Israel is trying to gradually change the status quo of a highly-revered religious compound in the occupied Quds, which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.

Over 210 Palestinians have so far been killed at the hands of Israeli soldiers since October 2015.

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