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Anger Reaches Tipping Point In West Bank

Jillian Kestler-D'Amours reports from the West Bank that clashes have continued daily between Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers in Hebron following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody and hunger strikes by others.
Palestinians carry the body of Arafat Jaradat as it arrives at his home before his funeral in the West Bank village of Se'eer near Hebron February 25, 2013. Israeli soldiers turned out in force on Monday for the funeral of Jaradat, who was arrested just one week ago for throwing stones at Israeli cars in the West Bank. Jaradat's death in an Israeli jail on Saturday and a hunger strike by four other prisoners have raised tension in the West Bank, where stone-throwers have clashed repeatedly with Israeli sold

SA’IR, WEST BANK – A widespread sense of anger and frustration was palpable as more than 10,000 people gathered on Feb. 25 in the West Bank town of Sa’ir, near Hebron, for the funeral of 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat, who had died two days earlier in an Israeli prison.

“Everyone is surprised about what happened,” Jaradat’s cousin Aded told Al-Monitor shortly before the funeral procession reached the local cemetery. “All the village is like his family. We are angry. [This shows that] anyone can come back as a martyr.” The father of two young children, Jaradat died on Feb. 23 in Israel’s Megiddo prison after five days behind bars. Israeli authorities arrested him last week on suspicion of stone throwing.

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