JERUSALEM: A Palestinian who had been in a coma since inhaling tear gas at a protest last month died yesterday in hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah, a medical official said.
Muayad Atwa, 30, also had a history of heart problems, the medic added.
Among mourners at his funeral in the Al Ram neighbourhood adjacent to Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem were masked gunmen of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah group. They fired assault rifles in the air and shouted “Vengeance!” a photographer at the scene reported.
After the funeral, clashes broke out with Palestinians throwing stones and Israeli soldiers responding with tear gas.
Tensions have been rising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank with clashes on the rise between soldiers or settlers on the one hand and young Palestinians on the other. Six Palestinians have been shot dead in confrontations with the army so far this year.
In the week from March 5 to 11, 132 Palestinians and five Israeli soldiers were wounded.
AFP
