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In Photos: Clashes Erupt at Funeral of Kidnapped Palestinian Teen

Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces after the funeral as tensions skyrocket in Jerusalem amid suspicion of revenge killing.
Image by Dylan Collins

Violent clashes erupted across East Jerusalem Friday afternoon following the funeral of slain Palestinian teenager Mohammad Abu Khdeir.

Thousands arrived at the boy’s home in the Shuafat suburb of East Jerusalem Friday morning as the family prepared to receive the 16-year-old's corpse. Mourners carried the boy’s casket, draped in a Palestinian flag, through the massive crowd. He was laid to rest amid a hail of gunfire that rang out from rooftops surrounding the cemetery.

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"Oh martyr relax, relax, we will continue the struggle," the crowd chanted throughout the funeral.

Violent reprisals begin after Israel finds bodies of three missing teens. Read more here.

Shortly after the procession and burial, Palestinian youth clashed with Israeli Border Police on all sides of the suburb for the third night in a row. By Friday morning, the streets of Shuafat looked very much like a warzone, littered with makeshift barricades, overturned dumpsters, propped-up road signs, and smashed streetlights.

Tensions have soared across Jerusalem since the discovery of Abu Khdeir’s torched corpse was found in a ditch in a West Jerusalem forest early Wednesday morning. His family believes the boy was kidnapped and killed by Jewish extremists “in revenge” for the recent kidnapping and killing of three Israeli settler youth in the West Bank by unknown culprits. The 16-year-old was abducted and killed just hours after the three Israeli teens were laid to rest late Tuesday evening.

While large funerals like Abu Khdeir’s are unfortunately commonplace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, they have been relatively unheard of in Jerusalem since the Second Intifada.

The mother of the slain teen, Mohammad Abu Khedair, seated at the chair in the center.

All Images by Dylan Collins