HEBRON, The Israeli occupation forces today closed the iron gate placed at the entrance to the town of Beit Ummar, in the south of the West Bank, and prevented a funeral from reaching the town’s cemetery, according to a local activist.

Mohammad Awad, an activist, told WAFA that as a funeral was heading toward the cemetery on the outskirts of the town, soldiers took over rooftops and closed the iron gate totally blocking participants in the funeral from reaching the cemetery to bury the dead person.

But not only that, as residents tried to force their way to the cemetery, the soldiers fired tear gas canisters at them in order to disperse them causing several suffocation cases.

This is not the first time soldiers manning a watchtower at the entrance to Beit Ummar, located on the main road between Bethlehem and Hebron, prevent a funeral from reaching the town’s cemetery and use force to attack the participants.

Source: Palestine News & Info Agency