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Reports: Arab boy burned alive

July 5, 2014

The slain Arab teenager - whose murder sparked riots among Palestinians - was burned alive, according to Palestinian media reports. Many Palestinians blame the boy's death on Jewish extremists.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CWNz
Jerusalem Ausschreitungen 04.07.2014
Image: picture alliance/abaca

Autopsy results found the presence of smoke in the 16-year-old's lungs and damage to his internal organs, indicating that he had been burned alive, said Palestinian Attorney General Abdelghani al-Owaiwi on Saturday.

The boy suffered burns to 90 percent of his body and a blow to the head, according to Abdelghani, who said the head wound did not cause his death. The attorney general was speaking to the Palestinian Maan news agency.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped from the Shuafat neighborhood of east Jerusalem on Wednesday. His corpse was later found in a forest in west Jerusalem.

Many Palestinians claim that the boy was murdered by Jewish extremists. They believe that Khdeir's murder was act of revenge for the deaths of three Israeli teenagers, who were kidnapped and murdered on June 12.

Israeli blames the Islamist group Hamas for the deaths of the Israeli youths. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.

The Israeli government has condemned Khdeir's murder, saying that it would bring those responsible to justice. Police have said they are pursuing all leads and have not explicitly singled out Jewish extremists.

Unrest among Arab communities

Khdeir's murder triggered three days of riots in predominantly Arab east Jerusalem. The unrest spread north on Saturday to Arab-Israeli villages, according to Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri. Protesters threw rocks at passing cars, burned tires, and threw rocks and firebombs at police.

On Friday, thousands of Palestinian mourners turned out for Khdeir's funeral. Tensions boiled over when some Palestinians hurled rocks at Israeli police, who responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades. A total of 62 Palestinians and 14 police were injured. Police arrested 20 Palestinians.

The murders of the Israeli and Palestinian youths have sparked a new round of violence between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Israel. Palestinian militants have fired rockets into southern Israel, while the Israeli military has pounded targets in Gaza with airstrikes.

Both senior Hamas officials and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have publicly said they want to avoid a further escalation of violence.

Egypt is mediating efforts aimed at brokering a ceasefire, but rocket fire continued to reach southern Israel on Saturday. No casualties or property damage were reported.

slk/ipj (AP, AFP, dpa)