Palestinians on Wednesday gathered for the funeral of Muhammad Mubarak, a 22-year-old man who was shot dead by Israeli forces earlier in the day.

A Ma’an reporter said a funeral procession brought Mubarak’s body from Ramallah Governmental Hospital to a cemetery in al-Jalazun refugee camp, where the man was laid to rest.

A group of masked men fired shots into the air during the procession.

Mubarak’s father said he was shot dead without reason, denying army claims that he was armed and fired at Israeli forces.

He said his son worked daily in the area where he was shot dead, near the village of Ein Siniya.

Eyewitnesses in the area told Ma’an that Mubarak was a laborer working with the al-Tarifi company on a USAID funded project to refurbish the main road in Ein Siniya.

An Israeli army statement said: “A Palestinian terrorist opened fire at an IDF (army) post near Ofra. The soldiers responded immediately in order to eliminate the imminent threat to their lives and fired towards the terrorist, identifying a hit.”

Palestinian housing and public works minister Maher Ghneim condemned what he described as the “cold-blooded killing” of a laborer who was working on a project run by the ministry in coordination with USAID.

Ghneim also lashed out at Israel’s attempts to “distort the story” by saying Mubarak had opened fire on troops, claiming the youth had been “carrying a sign to direct the traffic” when he was shot.

He called for an independent inquiry into the shooting by international rights groups.

Last year, Israel’s army killed 27 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to UN statistics.

(Ma’an – www.maannews.net)