Tensions in Jerusalem
July 3, 2014
"First of all they tortured him, then he was beaten up then he was set fire, in the early hours. These are our lives, we're trying to live them."
Alladin Ammouri, 17 years old, struggled to speak through his emotions as he recalled how his best friend Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and killed in the early hours of Wednesday morning (02.07.2014).
He had stepped out briefly from the local Shuafat Street mosque in East Jerusalem when he was approached by Jewish settlers, hustled into a brown Hyundai vehicle and taken away.
About two hours later, police found a body "burned beyond recognition" in Jerusalem Forest, to the city's west. A police source told DW that it was a nationalistic murder, though police have officially denied this explanation. The body was released to the family at midnight local time on Thursday.
Riotous response
Abu Khdeir's death sparked a day of violent clashes between about 200 young Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the neighborhood of Shuafat.
Family members of the killed teen stood by and watched as gunfire sporadically rang out, as tear gas was thrown and as barricades, wood and even the tram stop were set alight.
Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told DW that officers dealing with the rioters were experienced and used only non-lethal weapons.
He said there were no police injuries, but that he knew of one journalist who was shot in the face with non-lethal munitions and had to be treated at the hospital.
Others DW spoke to on location said at least 22 people were injured in the clashes.
Rosenfeld said cordons were put in place "to prevent Jews from accidentally walking into the violence," and that anti-terrorism squads were also assisting.
Local and international reactions
"We've got a friend who died, they took him, they killed him," said Ammouri. He labeled the subsequent decision by police to detain Abu Khdeir's father Hussein an "injustice."
A cousin of Abu Khdeir, who has the same name, couldn't say why Hussein was being held.
Another cousin, who called himself Nik, described a sense of pressure from all sides. "It's a tragedy to see the tension between us and the soldiers," he said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry was the first international figure to come out and condemn the killing, labeling it "despicable and senseless. There are no words to convey adequately our condolences to the Palestinian people."
Kerry has appealed to Israel and the Palestinian Authority to take all steps to prevent acts of violence.
Tensions rising
Palestinian human rights activist and political analyst Bassam Eid said that directly after the three Israeli youths went missing, Palestinians did not support the kidnapping.
Eid said this changed after the Israeli forces raided homes as part of their military operation Brother's Keeper.
"I visited houses in Nablus, Jenin and Hebron, they looked like an earthquake had taken place," he said. "Later on, more Palestinians started supporting the kidnapping as a revenge for the things they went through."
Eid pointed out that the kidnappings coincided with a Palestinian prison strike - and that now, "most Palestinians are expecting a more intensive military action from the Israeli side."
Problems spread
Hundreds of mourners, including Jewish people, gathered in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest racism. But the Twittersphere has exploded, with many Israelis calling for widespread protests in Palestinian towns.
According to Eid, these latest clashes between Jews and Palestinians are likely to have affected the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal.
Eid believes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas considers the unity between Fatah and Hamas to be over - but said Abbas was unlikely to announce it formally.