Clashes in al-Khalil erupt after funeral of Eskafi

Clashes broke out Thursday afternoon in al-Khalil after the funeral of Ibrahim Eskafi who ran over two Israeli soldiers on Wednesday before being shot dead.

Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that Palestinian youths confronted Israeli soldiers at Bab al-Zawiya, while the soldiers fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the Palestinian citizens, including school students, leading to some injuries.

Thousands of Palestinians in the city participated in the funeral of martyr Eskafi, 22, amid chants for resistance, calling for avenging Palestinian martyrs and calling for the continuation of Jerusalem Intifada. The participants waved Palestinian and Hamas’s flags.

Israeli forces continued its tightened security measures in the vicinity of al-Khalil, closed the entrance leading to Yatta town by cement cubes and established a military barrier at the eastern entrance of the city.

Eyewitnesses also revealed that Israeli soldiers erected another checkpoint at the main road near Fuwar refugee camp and stopped dozens of Palestinians’ cars. Israeli military vehicles were deployed at the northern entrance of the city on the conjunction of Gush Etzion settlement.