By JPOST.COM STAFF, KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Riots follow funeral of Palestinian who died in Israel jail; PA claims he died during torture, while Israel says he died of heart attack; Abbas believes Israel trying to incite chaos, killing Palestinian children.

Abbas gives speech marking Yasser Arafat’s death Photo: Mohamad Torokman/Reuters

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas responded Monday to the round of violence that broke out following the recent death of Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jadarat in Israeli custody. Abbas accused Israel of deliberately killing Palestinian children, in order to “sow anger” among the Palestinians.

“The death of young Arafat Jadarat shall not pass easily,” Army Radio quoted the Palestinian leader as saying.

Hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli security forces in the West Bank, earlier Monday, following the funeral of Jadarat who died Saturday in Israeli custody.

Some reports claimed that around 25,000 Palestinians had turned out for Jaradat’s funeral, as his body was carried to his home village of Sa’ir from a hospital in nearby Hebron. Thirty-year-old Jaradat was arrested last week for throwing stones at Israeli cars in the West Bank, and died at Megiddo Prison four days later.

The Palestinian Authority claims that Jaradat, whose official cause of death was listed as a cardiac arrest, died as a result of brutal torture during interrogation. Israel says Jaradat’s autopsy, carried out in Tel Aviv in the presence of a Palestinian coroner, revealed no signs of violence, and that the trauma caused to his body came from the medical emergency team’s efforts to resuscitate him after he collapsed. The autopsy listed bruising on his shoulder, chest and elbows, as well as fractures of two of his right ribs.

IDF and Border Police forces had been on high alert Monday ahead of the funeral, and used riot dispersal measures to clear the area.

Read More

Categories: news