BICOM

Another day of disturbances is expected in the West Bank today, with the funeral of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, a convicted Hamas terrorist who died of cancer, due to take place in Hebron. Two Palestinians were killed by IDF fire in the West Bank yesterday, apparently whilst attacking a guard post with petrol bombs, and around two hundred Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces in Hebron.

Palestinian sources said that the two men killed were Amar Nasar, aged 17, and Najo Bilbisi, aged 18. A third man is reportedly being treated in a Tulkarm hospital with injuries to his hand. An Israeli soldier is also reported to have been injured in the incident, which is being investigated by the IDF.

Abu Hamdiyeh’s death on Tuesday in an Israeli hospital sparked violent protests after Palestinian leaders accused Israel of medical negligence. Abu Hamdiyeh was imprisoned following a conviction for attempted murder in a plot to blow up a restaurant in Jerusalem. Two separate autopsies were carried out yesterday under the auspices of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, both concluding that Abu Hamdiyeh’s death was caused by cancer.

Tension is also continuing to simmer in the Gaza border region. Early this morning, a rocket and a mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip landed in open areas in southern Israel, making it the third straight day on which rockets or shells from Gaza have reached Israel. This follows months of quiet after a negotiated ceasefire ended Operation Pillar of Defence in November. Israel has warned that it will not allow a return to the situation in which rocket and mortar fire at Israeli communities in southern Israel is a daily occurrence. Egypt has also reportedly put pressure on Hamas to reign in armed groups in the Gaza Strip and prevent a new escalation.