Some 19 Palestinians were injured on Thursday after Israeli Occupation Forces violently dispersed the funeral of Palestinian Minister Ziad Abu Ein, who was killed a day earlier by Israeli forces during a peaceful demonstration near Ramallah.
Clashes broke out in the Jabal al-Tawil area after Israeli forces, who were heavily deployed inside the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Psagot, attempted to disperse thousands of Palestinians taking part in Abu Ein’s funeral procession.
To the sounds of drums and bagpipes, Abu Ein's coffin was carried by pallbearers in military uniform along a red carpet at the presidential compound in the city of Ramallah.
The Palestinian flag-draped coffin was then carried into the courtyard of a nearby cemetery, as nationalist songs blared and mourners chanted "Revenge!" and "Your blood will not be spilled in vain!"
The coffin was lowered carefully into the ground at a cemetery in al-Bireh, on the outskirts of Ramallah.
Schools were closed in a day of mourning and posters of Abu Ein were plastered on walls throughout the West Bank city.
According to Ma’an news agency, 19 Palestinians were injured by so-called “sponge” bullets and dozens suffered excessive tear gas inhalation.
Israeli police claimed “minor” clashes took place in several places and Palestinians were dispersed by "riot dispersal means" in Psagot, as well as in the West Bank villages of Nabi Saleh and Qalandiya, and the city of Hebron.
Abu Ein, 55, died Wednesday after Israeli forces beat him in the chest with the butts of their rifles and their helmets in the village of Turmsayya in the Ramallah district.
Witnesses said troops fired tear gas, soldiers grabbed Abu Ein and he was struck in the chest. Videos circulating online showed the soldiers pushing Abu Ein firmly in the chest and neck.
An AFP photographer said three soldiers grabbed Abu Ein and hit him in the chest. He lost consciousness and was taken to Ramallah Public Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces dispersed a march in Jerusalem condemning the death of the Palestinian minister.
Israeli forces raided Salah al-Din Street as activists distributed black flags as a symbol of mourning for the senior official.
Witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire in the air and fired stun grenades to disperse the peaceful march.
Israeli police also confiscated the ID of a woman after a verbal dispute broke out between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces.
"After hearing the results of the post-mortem, the Palestinian government holds Israel fully responsible for the killing of Ziad Abu Ein," government spokesman Ihab Bseiso told reporters in Ramallah on Thursday.
A Palestinian minister said the post-mortem, which was carried out by a Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian doctors, had shown that Abu Ein was killed by the actions of Israeli troops.
"Abu Ein died after being hit by (Israeli) Occupation Forces and because of the heavy use of tear gas," Palestinian civil affairs minister Hussein al-Sheikh told AFP.
Sheikh said Israeli forces had prevented Abu Ein from getting to a hospital quickly enough to save his life.
The incident prompted Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to threaten measures in response, saying "all options are open for discussion and implementation,” without specifying what those were.
Chief Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) negotiator Saeb Erekat told Ma'an Thursday that the Palestinian leadership decided to "limit" relations with Israel by halting security coordination.
"If (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu thinks a Palestinian Authority without any authority and an occupation at no cost is possible, he is mistaken,” Erekat said.
Besides his role in the PA monitoring illegal Israeli settlements and the separation barrier, Abu Ein was a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council and previously served as deputy minister for prisoner affairs.
On Wednesday, a senior official, Jibril Rajoub, told the press that the PA will end "all forms of security coordination with Israel for deliberately killing Minister Ziad Abu Ein."
Abu Ein's death was condemned by Palestinian factions, with immediate calls to halt security coordination with Israeli forces, a policy already widely unpopular among Palestinians.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad called on the PA to halt all security coordination following news of Abu Ein's death, with Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh saying Israel only understands the "language of force."
According to Erekat, the Palestinian leadership will meet again Friday evening to discuss and implement “the decisions” taken on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities urged calm, with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon expressing “regret” for the death and saying a military inquiry had been launched.
"Security stability is important for both sides," he claimed.
Netanyahu sent a message through one of his aides to Abbas in which he "pointed to the need to calm the situation and act responsibly," his office said.
Since September 2000, following the Second Intifada, at least 9,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis, including 2,053 children.
