Confrontations erupt in Hawara after funeral of Palestinian woman killed by Israeli forces

Confrontations erupted on Thursday afternoon in the Palestinian town of Hawara, south of Nablus, following the funeral of 26-year-old Iman Odeh, who was killed by Israeli forces near Hawara.

According to the Palestinian health ministry and local sources, Iman Odeh was shot dead in the chest by Israeli soldiers at the Ainabus checkpoint outside of Hawara earlier on Thursday.

Israeli media quoted the Israeli army claiming that Iman Odeh stabbed and lightly injured an Israeli soldier at the checkpoint, who managed to push her away. Then he and another soldier shot her dead.

"The funeral started in Hawara in the early afternoon and began to march through the town's streets," Abdel Rahman Dmeidi, a local journalist and resident of Hawara, told The New Arab.

Israeli occupation forces shot a Palestinian girl at Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus, for allegedly carrying out a stabbing attack. pic.twitter.com/hZG3vLqorF

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) May 4, 2023

"The occupation forces blocked the passage in front of the funeral, preventing it from reaching the main street, forcing mourners to stay within the interior streets of Hawara," Dmeidi said.

"After Iman was buried in Hawara's cemetery, young men came out to the main street and confronted the occupation soldiers," he added.

According to local sources, Israeli forces wounded one Palestinian with a rubber bullet in the head, while several others were asphyxiated by tear gas. Confrontations continued to the night, according to sources.

"Iman was a mother to five children, two of whom had died of illness, and one has special needs," Mahmoud Shehadeh, a resident of Hawara, told TNA. "She was a normal housewife and mother, taking care of her children and family, never having problems with anyone."

"She was going through the electronic gate that the occupation installed recently at the Ainabus checkpoint, just outside of Hawara, where she was shot three times, once in the chest. She was then transferred to the Rafidia hospital, where she was pronounced dead," Shehadeh added.

📸 Iman Ziyad Odeh, 26 years old, the Palestinian woman who was killed in cold blood by the Israeli occupation bullets a short while ago at Hawara.#PalYouth pic.twitter.com/E59dWUI6bI

— PalYouth (@PalYouth4News) May 4, 2023

The town of Hawara has been at the centre of Israeli forces and settlers' attacks in recent months. In late February, hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked Hawara, burned 30 Palestinian houses and killed one Palestinian while injuring dozens more.

Israeli forces imposed an on-and-off curfew on Hawara and have built some 15 military outposts inside the town, forcing Palestinians to secure the passage of Israeli settlers through the town's main street.

Iman Odeh is the 109th Palestinian killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2023, according to the Palestinian health ministry.