The Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday closed the iron gate placed at the entrance to the town of Beit Ummar, in the southern West Bank, and prevented a funeral from reaching the town’s cemetery, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

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

Moreover, 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 prevent a funeral from reaching the town’s cemetery and use force to attack the participants.

(WAFA, PC, SOCIAL)