IDF contains West Bank protests after prisoner's funeral

Israeli forces and Palestinian rioters clashed again in the Hebron area on Tuesday, a day after rioting following the funeral of a Palestinian who died in Israeli custody over the weekend.

Despite preparations for particularly violent confrontations in the West Bank on Monday between Palestinian activists and Israeli troops following the funeral, security sources reported only a few small disruptions, and the scope of demonstrations was relatively small.

The Israel Defense Forces reported on Monday that gatherings in the West Bank were "under control" after demonstrations this past weekend spurred concerns of a third intifada.

"There were a few sporadic incidents, but overall it appears that the IDF's restraint and containment policies were successful. The whole situation is contained right now, though we remain ready for the possibility of escalation," a source in the IDF said.

On Monday, an estimated 10,000 Palestinians attended the funeral of Arafat Jaradat, who died in Israeli custody on Saturday. The ceremony was held in the village of Sa'ir, near Hebron, where his family resides.

While Jaradat's autopsy, which was attended by a pathologist sent by the Palestinian Authority, apparently found no proof of torture, the man's family and the Palestinian Authority have insisted that he died because of his interrogation. Robert Serry, the U.N. coordinator for the Middle East peace process, called for "an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Jaradat's death, the results of which should be made public as soon as possible."

The funeral ended without significant disturbances. A few dozen Palestinians in the village of Anun near Sa'ir rioted, and small skirmishes were reported in Ramallah, Bitunia and Tulkarm, where a few dozen demonstrators threw stones and bottles at IDF soldiers. Around 30 Palestinians were lightly injured in the course of the day.

Israeli police shot and wounded five Palestinian youths during confrontations in Bethlehem and outside a West Bank prison, leaving one 15-year-old boy in a critical condition, Israeli and Palestinian medical sources said. The IDF said it was "investigating the incident."

"The Palestinians are uninterested in returning to an armed conflict. Israel wants chaos, but we won't allow it to fulfil that desire," Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday.

The PA president also blamed Israel for Jaradat's death. "The situation on the ground is very explosive, but we can't remain silent over the death of Arafat Jaradat, a hero. We are determined to know how his death occurred and who is responsible, and we know how to go about finding this information," Abbas said.

In light of the weekend turbulence, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting with his security advisers. The prime minister relayed his demand for calm in the West Bank to Tony Blair, a representative of the Middle East Quartet, who met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday. Defense Minister Ehud Barak held discussions with senior defense officials to assess the situation on the ground and possible responses.

Energy and Water Resources Minister Uzi Landau, a member of the Political-Security Cabinet, told Israel Hayom on Monday that "the recent events are clearly a provocation organized by the Palestinian Authority in light of U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit."

"The prime minister rightly delivered a message to the Palestinian Authority that they are responsible," he said. "They need to know that any conflict will exact a high price."

In the meanwhile, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem issued a travel warning to U.S. citizens living in Israel not to travel to Judea and Samaria. The statement cautioned that peaceful protests could quickly spiral into violent demonstrations without warning, and urged U.S. citizens not to participate.

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