Thousands mourned on Wednesday a fifth Palestinian killed on Tuesday by Israeli forces, 21-year-old Raed Naasan, in the village of Mughayer, east of Ramallah.
Naasan was confirmed dead by the Palestinian health ministry in the late afternoon on Tuesday after he was shot in the chest at confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces during an Israeli military raid.
Crowds of Palestinians marched early on Wednesday in Mughayer, carrying Naasan's body amidst raised flags and slogans, while a general strike was observed in the town.
"Raed was a very polite young man, always nice to everyone around him", Tareq Othman, a resident of Mughayer and friend of Naasan's family, told The New Arab.
"He worked in the Palestinian security forces and has two brothers, both of whom are prisoners in the occupation jails", he said.
"Raed himself was very brave and was always in the street when the occupation forces raided the town, confronting them," described Othman. "He had already been wounded twice while confronting Israeli forces."
Naasan's death by Israeli forces followed the killings of three other Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. On Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry confirmed the death of 22-year-old Jawad Rimawi and 21-year-old Thafer Rimawi, both brothers, and 44-year-old Mufid Ikhlayel.
At Birzeit University in Ramallah, crowds of thousands of students marched on the campus to mourn the death of Thafer and Jawad Rimawi, in presence of their mother and sister, raising flags and chanting angry slogans.
Thafer Rimawi was a student at Birzeit, and Jawad Rimawi was a freshly Birzeit-graduate. They were both killed by Israeli forces during an Israeli raid in the village of Kufr Ain, near Ramallah, where they both participated in confronting raiding troops with stones.
More crowds then attended the Rimawi brothers' funeral at their home village of Beit Rima, west of Ramallah.
"Jawad graduated last summer, he was very happy that he found a job fast, and today was supposed to be a normal working day for him," one of his friends told TNA at the funeral.
"He was always present at all confrontations with occupation forces in the area," said the friend. "His younger brother, Thafer, who was still in college, began to follow his steps and take part in confrontations recently."
"Thafer was very nice to me, he treated me like his little brother," Milad Rimawi, Thafer and Jawad's 14-year-old cousin, said to TNA.
"He used to take me and my friends to picnic on the nearby hill, and when he saw us in the village, he would stop and play with us, I can't believe he's gone," added the sobbing cousin.
"Jawad was a customer at my cafe where he liked to spend time, always smiling and caring, often joking and making others laugh," a resident of Beit Rima told TNA at the funeral.
"He was hard-working and had many dreams for the future, but he always put his patriotism before anything else," added the friend. "I saw the ns on Facebook this morning and couldn't believe it. It feels like a personal loss."
In the village of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, thousands of Palestinians took part in the funeral of 44-year-old Mufid Khlayel, who was also killed by raiding Israeli forces in the early hours of Tuesday.
"The occupation forces raided Beit Ummar with more than 150 soldiers around midnight," Younis Arar, a village resident, told TNA.
"Young men in the village confronted the occupation soldiers with stones and Molotov cocktails, and confrontations continued until 2:00 am when the soldiers withdrew from the village," he detailed.
"Some 21 people were wounded in the raid, and one of them was Mufid," he pointed out. "Then, at the hospital, he was pronounced dead in the morning, and since then, Beit Ummar is all closed in a general strike in mourning of Mufid."
"Mufid was an ex-prisoner, who had spent time in the occupation jails, and he was a father to four children," explained Arar.
"He worked in construction and was very skilful, mastering several jobs related to construction, hard-working and simple," added Arar. "Everybody in Beit Ummar felt his loss."
In the afternoon, confrontations broke out between Palestinians in Beit Ummar and Israeli forces following Ikhlayel's funeral. Several cases of asphyxiation with tear gas were reported.
[Qassam Muaddi/TNA]
Late on Tuesday, the Palestinian civil affairs commission, the body in charge of contact with Israeli authorities on civil matters in the West Bank, confirmed the death of 45-year-old Rani Abu Ali of his wounds following a ramming attack near Ramallah.
Abu Ali had rammed his car into an Israeli female army officer at the Mukhmas junction near Ramallah. the officer's condition was described as "serious" by Israeli media. At the same time, Abu Ali was shot by Israeli forces and taken to the hospital, before being pronounced dead later in the day.
Palestinian sources confirmed that Abu Ali was a resident of the town of Bitunia in Ramallah and father to five children.
The killing of Jawad Rimawi, Thafer Rimawi, Mufid Ikhlayel, Raed Naasan and Rani Abu Ali brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2022 to 208.