Palestinian farmer killed by Israeli settlers laid to rest in Nablus-area village
YemenExtra
Y.A
Thousands of Palestinians marched on Saturday in the funeral of Mahmoud Odeh, the 48-year-old Palestinian farmer who was shot and killed by Israeli settlers on Thursday in the Qusra village, south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.
Mourners carried Odeh’s body throughout the village following prayers in the local school, to the village cemetery where he was buried.
Representatives of various Palestinian factions and institutions took part in the funeral.
Mourners waved Palestinians flags and repeated slogans condemning Israeli settlers’ attacks and promising a response to their “crimes.”
An upwards of some 600,000 Israeli settlers reside in occupied Palestinian territory in violation of international law. The international community has repeatedly called their presence and rising population the main impediment to potential peace in the region.
The UN reported in August that after a three-year decline of settler attacks on Palestinians, the first half of 2017 showed a major increase in such attacks, with 89 incidents being documented so far this year, representing an 88 percent increase compared to 2016. The attacks during this time period have led to the deaths of three Palestinians.
Palestinian activists and rights groups have long accused Israel of fostering a “culture of impunity” for Israeli settlers and soldiers committing violent acts against Palestinians.
Israeli authorities served indictments in only 8.2 percent of cases of Israeli settlers committing anti-Palestinian crimes in the occupied West Bank in the past three years, according to Israeli NGO Yesh Din.
Source: Website