Israel arrests Palestinian suspect in stabbing death

JERUSALEM — Israeli police said Saturday they arrested a Palestinian suspect in the killing of an Israeli teenager, as thousands of people in Gaza buried two Palestinian teenagers killed by Israeli fire a day earlier in protests along the perimeter fence.

Police said Arafat Arpaya, 29, was arrested in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, but originally comes from the West Bank city of Hebron. Police did not say when the arrest took place and said the motive for the killing was still under investigation.

The body of Ori Ansbacher, 19, was found in the woods near Jerusalem on Thursday with stab wounds. She was buried Friday in the Israeli settlement of Tekoa amid calls by hard-line Jews for revenge.

Over 600,000 Jewish settlers live in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinians want as part of their future state.

In the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians attended funerals for the teenagers.

The mother of 14-year-old Hassan Shalabi wailed as mourners brought his body on a stretcher for a final farewell at their home in the Nusseirat refugee camp.

“He was everything beautiful at home; his voice, his happiness fills the house,” said the mother, Fatma, soon after the body was carried away, wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

The two teenagers were standing 160-200 feet from the fence at separate protests when they were shot by Israeli forces, according to rights group alMezan.

In Gaza City, mourners buried Hamza Ishtiwi. The Health Ministry put his age at 18, but Mezan said he was 17. Footage of Hamza lying on his back the moment after a bullet struck him in the neck spread on social media.

Gaza’s Hamas rulers have organized mass demonstrations along the frontier every Friday since March, in part to protest against the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the territory, which was imposed when the Islamic militant group seized power in 2007. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and thousands have been wounded.

The protesters frequently hurl rocks and firebombs, and Israeli soldiers respond with tear gas and live fire. Israel, which has been accused of using excessive force, says it does what it must to protect its borders.

The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, condemned the killing of the two Palestinians, warning of the “significant violence” Palestinian children endure.