WATCH ABOVE: Israeli police and Palestinian protesters clashed in east Jerusalem yesterday. Alex Ortiz reports.WARNING: Some images may be disturbing.
JERUSALEM – The Palestinian attorney general says autopsy results of an Arab teenager who Palestinians say was killed by Israeli extremists in a revenge attack show he was burned to death.
The charred body of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir was found in a forest after he was seized near his home in east Jerusalem. Palestinians have accused Israeli extremists of killing him to avenge the deaths of three Israeli teens who had been abducted and killed in the West Bank.
Abdelghani al-Owaiwi said Saturday that Abu Khdeir suffered burns on “90 per cent of his body.”
Israeli police said an investigation is still underway and they have not yet determined who killed the boy or why.
READ MORE: Security beefed up in Jerusalem before funeral of slain Palestinian teen
Tensions have been high since three Israeli teenagers were abducted in the West Bank on June 12, sparking a massive manhunt that ended with the discovery of their bodies early this week.
Israel has blamed Hamas for the abductions and launched a crackdown on the Islamic militant group in the West Bank, drawing rocket attacks out of Gaza and Israeli airstrikes in a near-daily cycle of retaliation. Hamas, which has kidnapped Israelis in the past, praised the kidnapping of the teens but did not take responsibility for it.
Palestinians have accused Israeli extremists for killing Abu Khdeir, saying it was a revenge attack for the deaths of the three Israeli teens. Israeli police said an investigation was ongoing and the motive has yet to be determined.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, announced Thursday that reinforcements had been sent to the border with Gaza in a bid to halt a growing wave of rocket fire. But he insisted the move was “defensive.”
The killing of the Palestinian boy was widely condemned by Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has vowed to find the attackers.
“We don’t know yet the motives or the identities of the perpetrators, but we will. We will bring to justice the criminals responsible for this despicable crime whoever they may be,” Netanyahu said Thursday. “Murder, riots, incitement, vigilantism, they have no place in our democracy.”
READ MORE: As Palestinian family waits to bury son, Israel deals with online hate
On Friday, Palestinian militants fired at least six rockets and mortars at Israel, two of which exploded prematurely inside Gaza, the military said. But that was far fewer than the dozens of barrages reported in previous days and the border area was relatively calm.
The military says Palestinian militants have fired some 140 rockets at southern Israel in recent weeks. The air force responded with airstrikes on about 70 targets in Gaza, the military said.
Abu Khdeir’s family set up a large tent outside the home for those seeking to pay condolences and distributed posters mourning his death.
Mourners chanted “with our soul, with our blood, we would sacrifice anything for you (Palestine)” and “Allahu akbar!” or “God is great”
Waving a Palestinian flag and with a traditional scarf covering his face at the funeral, Shuafat resident Rami, 20, said he came to chant and mourn his neighbourhood friend Mohammed. “Frankly, my emotions cannot be described. I am happy and sad. I am happy because he died a martyr, but I am sad because they kidnapped him, killed him and then burned him.”
Protests broke out in a few areas after Muslim prayers, police said. Hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks at police who responded with stun grenades, police said.
Palestinians also threw rocks at the most sensitive holy site in Jerusalem. The hilltop compound is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, where the two biblical Jewish Temples stood. It is sacred to Muslims as the Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, marking the place where they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
On the main road in Shuafat, streets and light rail tracks remained covered in charred debris, rocks and large garbage cans.
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