Confrontations erupted on Thursday afternoon in the Palestinian town of Huwwara, south of Nablus, following the funeral of 26-year-old Iman Odeh, who was killed by Israeli forces earlier on that day, The New Arab reported.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Healthy, Iman Odeh was shot dead in the chest by Israeli soldiers at the Ainabus checkpoint outside of Huwwara.
Visiting Huwwara: The Palestinian Town Torched by Illegal Israeli Settlers
“The funeral started in Huwwara in the early afternoon and began to march through the town’s streets,” Abdel Rahman Dmeidi, a local journalist and resident of Huwwara, told The New Arab.
“The occupation forces blocked the passage in front of the funeral, preventing it from reaching the main street, forcing mourners to stay within the interior streets of Huwwara,” Dmeidi said.
“After Iman was buried in Huwwara’s cemetery, young men came out to the main street and confronted the occupation soldiers.”
According to local sources, Israeli forces wounded one Palestinian with a rubber bullet in the head, while several others were asphyxiated by tear gas. Confrontations continued to the night.
Israeli media quoted the Israeli army claiming that Iman Odeh stabbed and lightly injured an Israeli soldier at the checkpoint, who managed to push her away, before being shot and killed. However, residents of Huwwara deny this version of events.
“Iman was a mother to five children, two of whom had died of illness, and one has special needs,” Mahmoud Shehadeh, a resident of Huwara, told TNA.
“She was a normal housewife and mother, taking care of her children and family, never having problems with anyone.”
“She was going through the electronic gate that the occupation installed recently at the Ainabus checkpoint, just outside of Huwwara, where she was shot three times, once in the chest. She was then transferred to the Rafidia hospital, where she was pronounced dead,” Shehadeh added.
The town of Huwwara has been at the center of Israeli forces and settlers’ attacks in recent months.
🇵🇸 #Palestine | The funeral of the martyr Iman Odeh, who was killed by the occupation bullets in the town of Hawara, south of Nablus
جانب من تشييع جثمان الشهيدة إيمان عودة التي ارتقـت برصاص الاحتلال في بلدة حوارة جنوب نابلس.#IsraelIsATerrorState #IsraeliCrimes… pic.twitter.com/jiQDNVnZJR
— Mona (@ML35209678) May 4, 2023
In late February, hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked the town, burned 30 Palestinian houses, and killed one Palestinian while injuring dozens more.
Iman Odeh is the 109th Palestinian killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2023, according to the Palestinian MoH.
(The New Arab, PC)
