video transcript

ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION STORY: Palestinian youths clashed with Israeli forces on Monday (February 25) after the funeral of a prisoner who died in an Israeli jail. In the West Bank cities of Hebron and Nablus clashes erupted between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli soldiers who responded with tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades. In confrontations elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers wounded at least six Palestinians. Doctors said some of the injuries were from live bullets, though the army said it used non-lethal means only. The death of the prisoner on Saturday (February 23) and a hunger strike by four other prisoners have raised tensions in the West Bank, where stone throwers have clashed repeatedly with Israeli soldiers in recent days. The sounds and fury were reminiscent of the seven-year Intifada, or uprising, that started in 2000 after Israeli-Palestinian peace talks failed. Palestinian officials said Arafat Jaradat had died after being tortured in prison. But Israel said an autopsy carried out in the presence of a Palestinian coroner was inconclusive and that injuries such as broken ribs could have been caused by efforts to revive Jaradat. Israel holds around 4,700 Palestinians in its prisons on charges ranging from throwing stones to killing Israelis. Palestinians widely regard them as heroes of their national struggle against Israel and want them all freed.