Ma'an – Five Palestinians were injured by Israeli army gunfire in the West Bank town of Beit Ummar on Friday during clashes at the funeral procession of two Palestinians killed last week in the Israeli settlement of Kfar Etzion, south of Bethlehem. Medical sources said the injured, one of whom is in a serious condition, were taken to Hebron Government Hospital. The clashes occurred during the funeral of twenty-one-year-old Muhammad Fathi Sabarna and twenty-year-old Mahmoud Khaled Sabarna from Beit Ummar, who were shot dead after allegedly entering the Kfar Etzion settlement carrying knives and stabbing three Israeli settlers.
At least 20 Israeli military vehicles were present, as the funeral procession began at the town's mosque and attempted to proceed to the nearby cemetery along the main street. Eye witnesses said the clashes started after Israeli forces prevented the funeral procession from reaching the cemetery through the main Bethlehem-Hebron road, trying to force the mourners to take a different route.
During the ensuing fighting, twenty-year-old Ibrahim Hasan Al Alam was shot in the thigh, suffering broken bones and severe bleeding. He is in a critical condition. Forty-two-year-old Hisham Khalil Abu Mariya was hit in the head by a rubber bullet. Thirty-seven-year-old Saqar Sader Abu Mariya was shot in the foot. Twenty-seven-year-old Ahmad Ali Akil Khalil was hit in the hand by a rubber bullet. Twenty-year-old Anwar Ahmad Khamees was hit with a gas grenade in the head.
Although Israeli forces had handed over the deceased's bodies to their relatives on Wednesday evening, their burial was not possible until Friday due to the bad weather conditions over the past few days. Both men had recently been released from an Israeli prison. They had each served a year after being found guilty of beating up an Israeli settler and taking his gun.