Egypt on Monday condemned Israeli policies concerning Palestinian prisoners in light of the death of Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jadarat in Israeli custody over the weekend, Kuwait News Agency KUNA reported.
In a press release, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr warned that the continuation of Israeli policies will lead to an explosion of the situation in the region, according to the report.
KUNA cited Amr as saying he holds Israel responsible for any deterioration of the situation and calling on the international community to take a firm stance against Israel's "inhuman practices against the Palestinian prisoners.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas responded Monday to the round of violence that broke out following the recent death of Jadarat. Abbas accused Israel of deliberately killing Palestinian children, in order to "sow anger" among the Palestinians.
"The death of young Arafat Jadarat shall not pass easily," Army Radio quoted the Palestinian leader as saying.
Hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli security forces in the West Bank, earlier Monday, following the funeral of Jadarat who died Saturday in Israeli custody.
Some reports claimed that around 25,000 Palestinians had turned out for Jaradat's funeral, as his body was carried to his home village of Sa’ir from a hospital in nearby Hebron.
A Palestinian teenage boy from a refugee camp was seriously injured during confrontations with security forces near Bethlehem, Israel Radio reported. The boy was evacuated to a near-by hospital. The IDF said that soldiers used crowd dispersal means and did not use live fire. Two other Palestinian protesters were lightly injured in the protests.
Thirty-year-old Jaradat was arrested last week for throwing stones at Israeli cars in the West Bank, and died at Megiddo Prison four days later.
The Palestinian Authority claims that Jaradat, whose official cause of death was listed as a cardiac arrest, died as a result of brutal torture during interrogation. Israel says Jaradat’s autopsy, carried out in Tel Aviv in the presence of a Palestinian coroner, revealed no signs of violence, and that the trauma caused to his body came from the medical emergency team’s efforts to resuscitate him after he collapsed. The autopsy listed bruising on his shoulder, chest and elbows, as well as fractures of two of his right ribs.
IDF and Border Police forces had been on high alert Monday ahead of the funeral, and used riot dispersal measures to clear the area.
Jaradat’s death triggered protests in the West Bank on Sunday, with hundreds of Palestinians taking to the streets and clashing with IDF soldiers. Clashes were also reported in Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem, Palestinian sources said, adding that at least 36 Palestinians were wounded during confrontations with soldiers.