Palestinian police fire tear gas at funeral

Palestinian security forces on Wednesday fired tear gas canisters and flash grenades at angry Palestinian protesters during a funeral for a militant in the occupied West Bank. It was a rare encounter that highlighted deep public dissatisfaction with the Palestinian self-rule government.

Palestinians gathered in the northern West Bank city of Nablus for the funeral of Abdul Fattah Kharushah, a 49-year-old Hamas militant killed in an Israeli raid Tuesday. Kharushah had been wanted for killing two Israeli brothers in the nearby town of Hawara. It was the latest bloody raid into the Jenin refugee camp, leaving five other Palestinians dead and more than two dozen wounded.

Wednesday’s funeral procession through Nablus spiraled into chaos after the mourners began to chant against the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority has long drawn resentment for its security cooperation with Israel, which allows its security forces to crack down on its Islamist rival, the Hamas militant group.

“Traitors!” the crowds shouted at the Palestinian security forces. “Spies!”

According to Palestinian security spokesman Talal Dweikat, Palestinian forces intervened when a group of Hamas supporters interrupted the procession and grabbed the shrouded body, almost dropping it. The group turned the funeral into a protest against the Palestinian Authority , Dweikat said, “instead of cursing the [Israeli] occupation that has committed crimes against our people.”