Hundreds of mourners descended on the village of Al-Lubban in the northern West Bank on Wednesday for the funeral of a Palestinian intelligence officer who was shot by Israeli soldiers who claimed they had "neutralised" an armed terrorist.
Ahmed Daraghmeh, an officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security service, died on Tuesday after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers mistook him for an armed militant and opened fire on the car he was in, killing him and critically injuring another Palestinian.
The IDF said on Twitter that “two terrorists were neutralised” during an attempted attack on Israeli troops guarding the Tapuah Junction.
But the IDF’s Army Radio later reported the soldiers had opened fire after mistaking an object being held by one of the men for a weapon.
“The soldiers at the checkpoint at Tapuah Junction were a little too alert, a week after the attack on the spot –they thought they saw a gun – and fired,” the IDF told Army Radio.
No weapons were found in the vehicle, it said, adding the incident was under investigation.
Mr Daraghmeh's funeral was held as tensions between Israel and the Palestinians continued to climb after a night of rocket attacks and air strikes.
Israel’s security forces are bracing for continued unrest.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of emergency in the city of Lod, home to both Arabs and Jews, where police reported widespread rioting.
Meanwhile, protesters clashed with Israeli police and attacked Jewish motorists in several Jewish-Arab towns.
-
Israeli artillery in action as the escalation continues between the Israeli army and Hamas at the Gaza Border. EPA -
Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinian Rashid Abu Ara, 16, who was killed during clashes with Israeli troops in village of Aqaba near Nablus, north of the West Bank. AFP -
A heavily damaged house in a residential area in the city of Yehud, in central Israel. AFP -
Parents of Palestinian man Abdulsalam Al-Ghazali, who was killed amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, react during their son funeral in Gaza City. Reuters -
Residents look at a car that was hit in an Israeli air strike, on the main road in Gaza City. Three people who were in the vehicle died. AP -
Palestinians mourn the death of relatives outside a hospital in Beit Lahia following a series of Israeli air strikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. AFP -
Israeli Arabs treat a sheep that was wounded by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, where nearby a father and his daughter were killed, in the village of Dahmash near the Israeli city of Lod. AP -
An injured man receives treatment at the scene after a rocket launched from the Gaza strip struck in Giv'atayim, Israel. Getty -
A man looks at the damage in the aftermath of overnight Israeli air strikes on Gaza. EPA -
A Jewish man at a burnt-out synagogue after overnight riots between Arab and Jewish residents in Lod, Israel. EPA -
Relatives of Palestinian Rashid Abu Arra, 16, who was killed during clashes with Israeli troops in the village of Aqqaba near Nablus at the hospital morgue in Tubas in the occupied West Bank. AFP -
Rubble from the Hanadi tower after an Israeli air strike on Gaza City. EPA -
Israeli security forces pass burnt-out vehicles in Holon near Tel Aviv. AFP -
A huge crater in Gaza City caused by the Israeli air strikes. AFP -
A broken mannequin near a tower building in Gaza City that was hit by Israeli air strikes during the flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Reuters -
Fires at sunrise in Khan Yunish after an Israeli air strike on targets in the southern Gaza strip. AFP -
Palestinian rescuers move an elderly woman from a building in Gaza City after Israeli air strikes in the area. AP Photo -
Palestinians evacuate after their tower building was hit by Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City. Reuters -
The remains of a rocket, destroyed by Israel's Iron Dome aerial defence system, which was fired by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from the Gaza strip. AFP -
An Iron Dome aerial defence system battery is seen in the foreground as fire rages at Ashkelon's refinery, which was hit by Hamas rockets the previous day, in the southern Israeli city. AFP -
Palestinians stand next to the remains of a tower building which was destroyed in Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City. Reuters -
A Palestinian man holds an injured girl awaiting medical care at al-Shifa hospital, after an Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AFP -
People take shelter in the basement of a building in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv as alarm sirens wailed after 3:00 a.m. after rockets were launched towards Israel from the Gaza Strip. AFP -
Israeli border police vehicles drive past an extinguished burnt vehicle in Lod near Tel Aviv, after rockets were launched towards Israel from the Gaza Strip controlled by the Palestinian Hamas movement. AFP -
An Israeli police officer gestures to a Palestinian woman and her daughter, frightened by clashes outside of the Damascus Gate to the Old City of Jerusalem. AP Photo -
Israeli firefighters walk by a car with a fallen tree on it after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza towards Holon, Israel. Reuters -
Palestinians inspect a destroyed Hanadi tower after Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. EPA -
Arab Israelis gesture and wave Palestinian flags during the funeral of Mousa Hassouna in the central Israeli city of Lod near Tel Aviv. Hassouna was killed during clashes with Israeli security following an anti-Israel demonstration over tensions in Jerusalem. AFP -
Rescuers rush to help among the rubble in front of Al Sharouk tower, that collapsed after being hit by an Israeli air strike, in Gaza city on Wednesday. AFP -
Palestinians view the smouldering remains of Al Sharouk tower, which collapsed after being hit by an Israeli air strike. AFP -
Smoke and flames rise from Al Sharouk tower, as it collapses after being hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. AFP -
Al Sharouk tower block collapses after being hit by an Israeli air strike. AFP -
A man peers out to survey destroyed buildings in Gaza city, following Israeli air strikes. AFP -
A plume of black smoke rises into the air in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli air strike on the area, which is controlled by the militant Hamas movement. AFP -
Parts of a broken mannequin lie scattered near a building that was hit by Israeli air strikes in Gaza city. Reuters -
A Palestinian woman mourns her son Rasheed Abu Arra, who was killed during confrontations with Israeli forces, at his funeral in the village of Aqaba, near the West Bank town of Tubas. AP Photo -
Women mourn at the funeral of Palestinian Rasheed Abu Arra, who was killed during confrontations with Israeli forces, in the town of Aqaba, near Tubas, in the West Bank. Reuters -
Israel's Iron Dome air defence system intercepts a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, above the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. AFP
The bloodshed was triggered by clashes at the weekend at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque, sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
Israeli police stormed the compound and used tear gas and stun grenades on worshippers as they gathered for Friday prayers.
In the ensuing escalation, which was also fuelled by Israeli threats to evict Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, militant groups fired more than 1,000 rockets at Israeli towns, causing six deaths.
At least 56 Palestinians, including 14 children, have been killed in retaliatory air strikes targeting Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
