Thousands attend funeral of two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces

Thousands of Palestinians turned out on Saturday in the occupied West Bank to mourn two men killed by Israeli forces.

The dead Palestinians' funerals took place in their hometowns – Nilin west of Ramallah for Sufyan Nawwaf Al-Khawaja, 32, and Qaffin north of Tulkarm for 23-year-old Yazan Omar Khasib.

Khasib was shot dead by Israeli forces on Friday at the entrance to a Palestinian village near the illegal settlement of Beit El.

His funeral procession began the next morning in Ramallah. His body was brought to his maternal grandmother and other relatives in the town of Anabta before being transported to Qaffin, where his family bid him farewell.

When he arrived in Qaffin a large group took him through the streets, carrying him on their shoulders wrapped in the Palestinian flag, deputy mayor Mahmoud Ammar told The New Arab's Arabic sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The mourners carried out funeral prayers for him so he could be laid to rest in the town's cemetery. A general strike was called in Qaffin for Khasib.

Mourning for Al-Khawaja, whose body had been withheld after Israeli forces shot him dead in March 2020, also began in Ramallah.

A procession of cars travelled towards his family's house in Nilin, where they bid farewell to him.

He was carried on mourners' shoulders, wrapped in the Palestinian flag, to a mosque in the town.

After that, Palestinians walked through the streets of Nilin until they reached the town's cemetery, where Al-Khawaja was buried, local sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Three Palestinians were wounded by live gunfire from Israeli forces on Saturday in Nilin after the funeral.

The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers so far this year is 89, according to Palestinian health ministry data.

On Thursday, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in Jenin, a city that has been repeatedly targeted with raids. Among the dead was 16-year-old Omar Awadin.

This year has seen an uptick in killings of Palestinians, with more than one having lost their life a day on average so far in 2023.