Friday, July 4, 2014

As tensions boil, Palestinian teen's funeral expected to take place Friday - CNN





  • Family says the boy will be buried after his body is returned Friday

  • Mohammad Abu Khedair was abducted while on his way to prayers

  • At least 10 protesters injured in skirmishes with police on Thursday

  • Israeli forces strike targets in Gaza; rockets fired into Israel




Jerusalem (CNN) -- The funeral of a Palestinian teenager abducted and killed in Jerusalem this week is expected to take place Friday, amid seething tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.


The boy's father, Hussain Abu Khedair, said Thursday that the family expects to be given the body of his son Mohammad after Friday prayers. The father said the 17-year-old will likely will be buried later in the day.


"We will not bury my son at night," he said earlier Thursday on Palestinian television. "We will do it during the day."


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Thursday to find the perpetrators responsible for the boy's killing, an act he described as "a despicable crime."









Mourners of Eyal Yifrach, 19, attend his funeral outside his house in Elad, Israel, on Tuesday, July 1. The bodies of Yifrach and two other Israeli teenagers, Naftali Frankel and Gilad Shaar, were found a day earlier after they were abducted last month on their way home from school in the West Bank.Mourners of Eyal Yifrach, 19, attend his funeral outside his house in Elad, Israel, on Tuesday, July 1. The bodies of Yifrach and two other Israeli teenagers, Naftali Frankel and Gilad Shaar, were found a day earlier after they were abducted last month on their way home from school in the West Bank.



Avi and Rachel Frankel attend the funeral of their son, Naftali, in the West Bank settlement of Nof Ayalon on July 1. He was 16.Avi and Rachel Frankel attend the funeral of their son, Naftali, in the West Bank settlement of Nof Ayalon on July 1. He was 16.



Friends of Naftali Frankel attend his funeral service. Friends of Naftali Frankel attend his funeral service.



Mourners gather around the body of Gilad Shaar, 16, during his funeral ceremony July 1 in Talmon, West Bank.Mourners gather around the body of Gilad Shaar, 16, during his funeral ceremony July 1 in Talmon, West Bank.



A young man grieves during Shaar's funeral.A young man grieves during Shaar's funeral.



People hold Israeli flags during Shaar's funeral procession in Hashmonaim, West Bank.People hold Israeli flags during Shaar's funeral procession in Hashmonaim, West Bank.




Israel mourns 3 dead teenagers

Israel mourns 3 dead teenagers

Israel mourns 3 dead teenagers

Israel mourns 3 dead teenagers

Israel mourns 3 dead teenagers

Israel mourns 3 dead teenagers



Israel mourns 3 dead teenagersIsrael mourns 3 dead teenagers






Palestinian teen's murder sparks outrage




Palestinian teen killed for revenge?




Israeli teen's chilling emergency call

Israeli authorities are still trying to determine who killed Mohammad Abu Khedair and why, Netanyahu said.


Police have said they are investigating whether it was an act of retaliation for the killings of three Israeli teens, whose bodies were discovered in a field in the West Bank on Monday.


Forced into car


Mohammad Abu Khedair was heading from his home to a mosque in the middle-class neighborhood of Shuafat for prayers around 4 a.m. when three men forced him into a car and drove off, his father said Wednesday. The boy's body was found about an hour later at a forest in Jerusalem.


The killings of the Palestinian and Israeli teenagers have further ratcheted up tensions in a region where peace talks fell apart earlier this year.


Demonstrators and Israeli officers clashed again Thursday in the East Jerusalem area of Shuafat, and there are concerns that the Palestinian teenager's funeral could spark further unrest.


At least 10 Palestinian protesters were injured Thursday, according to a CNN team there. Dozens of Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces who fired rubber bullets and stun grenades.


Arrests after Israelis kidnapped


Since the abduction of the Israeli teens -- Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frankel -- as they were on their way home from school on June 13, Israel has arrested hundreds of activists from Hamas, the militant Islamic organization it blames for the kidnapping.


Israeli forces have also destroyed the homes of the two main suspects it has identified in the Israeli teenagers' abduction.


WAFA, the Palestinian state news agency, reported Wednesday that 15 Palestinians have been killed during that time. The figure includes six killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank, three in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, two dead of heart attacks after West Bank raids, plus the recently killed Palestinian teenager.


Hamas has praised the kidnappings of the Israelis but denied that it was responsible for what happened. It warned that if Netanyahu "brings a war on Gaza, the gates of hell will open to him."


Rockets, airstrikes


The unrest over the kidnappings has come as Israelis and Palestinians continue to trade blows over longstanding issues. There have been rocket attacks and airstrikes.


The Israeli Defense Forces said 40 rockets were launched toward Israel from Gaza on Thursday. One soldier had minor wounds and some homes were damaged, the IDF said.


Israel conducted at least eight airstrikes early Thursday.


Three hit a Hamas intelligence building in Gaza city, while at least one struck the Qassam training camp in Beit Hanoun.


Palestinian medical sources reported at least 10 people injured, one of them seriously.


Israel Defense Forces said the airstrikes, going after 15 Hamas targets, were in response to the firing of more than 20 rockets into Israel since Wednesday.


Opinion: Teens' killing hurts Israelis, bad for Palestinians


Opinion: Slain teens call for justice, not escalation


Ben Wederman reported from Jerusalem. Steve Almasy reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Michael Schwartz, Kareem Khadder and Pierre Meilhan contributed to this report.









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