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Amid slogans and tear gas, Na'alin buries 10-year-old By Avi Issacharoff Dozens of young men were standing around at the entrance to Na'alin at noon yesterday, waiting for the body of 10-year-old Ahmed Moussa, which was supposed to arrive with a procession of mourners from Ramallah. The Border Police and the Israel Defense Forces had already been deployed along the main road leading to the town, anticipating a possible confrontation with unarmed Palestinians. Moussa was killed at Na'alin on Tuesday, during violent protests against the construction of the separation fence, whose route will leave approximately 2,500 dunams of the town's lands on the Israeli side of the fence. The mood left by the incident was still in the air. To all the people standing there, it was clear that in a few hours, the parties would begin another round of clashes. Most held Hamas flags; only a few Fatah flags could be seen. Among them stood a group of foreigners, the kind that seems not to miss any demonstration against the fence in the West Bank, and there were also a few Israelis who had joined the struggle. Advertisement A short while later, a long convoy of vehicles could be seen on the horizon. The driver of a pick-up truck with speakers in the back turned on a recording, most of which was in Arabic. "You sons of bitches," the voice called out to the soldiers and police. "You are murderers and you are worse than the Germans." The voice, rising to new heights, inflamed the atmosphere. "You are an incredible nation, of the most murderous sort. Go f--- your father, your mother; you are murderers." Then, a few seconds later, the vehicle carrying the dead boy appeared. A human river of hundreds of Palestinians accompanied it, chanting: "With blood and fire we will redeem you, martyr," interspersed with cries of "Allah akbar" ("God is great"). Suddenly, explosions were heard - stun grenades. They were followed by a torrent of tear gas canisters that fell among the hundreds of demonstrators. It is not entirely clear why. Perhaps the demonstrators got too close to the Border Police officers. But at that moment, no one really cared. The mass of people ran into the village, and dozens of stones were thrown at the troops. There was no air; the gas gets in your nose and mouth. Visions were blurred, and the escaping people fell on top of each other. It seemed that any moment, one of the young men at the bottom of the pile would be crushed to death. "Ya shabab, ya shabab [guys, guys], be careful, he is being crushed here," could be heard. The pile lifted slowly, and the youth was pulled out unharmed. But the tear gas continued to be suffocating. A peek into a yard on a side street revealed an Israeli journalist on the ground, having difficulties breathing. He was trying to recover as the tear gas dispersed. "Don't wash your face," one of the veterans of the clashes, a 17-year-old, said. He could attest to the fact that this would only exacerbate the irritation. Several hundred meters inside the town, the tumult died down. The body was brought to the home of an uncle; religious leaders and some politicians made an appearance. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is so concerned with the lot of the Palestinian public, sent his bureau chief, Rafiq al-Husseini, to attend the funeral. Abbas himself was on another round of visits to Arab countries. Among those present was a young Israeli who is well known to the media, Jonathan Pollack, a member of Anarchists Against the Wall. With his European look, he seemed to be both an outsider and well-connected to what was taking place in town. He was clearly well versed in the characters on both sides. "People in Israel have forgotten that battalion commander who gave an order to shoot a bound Palestinian," he said. "The security forces are employing a level of violence here that I have not seen anywhere else. I have no idea why, and I have taken part in dozens of demonstrations. One must remember that at the end of the day, the army is not prepared to deal with civil unrest in any way except excessive use of violence." The funeral moved to the cemetery. Several hundred people were marching with flags, calling out slogans against Israel and the separation fence. It was hot, and one of the townspeople circulated with a bucket of water and ice, handing out drinks to the mourners. Hussam Moussa, the dead boy's father, was still in shock over the disaster that had struck his family. "The boy went to the demonstration. There were no arms. He had no weapon and no Katyusha [rocket]," the bereaved father said. "Let them put the soldier who shot him on trial." But the funeral no longer belonged to the family. It had been appropriated from the Moussas for the sake of speeches, vows to redeem the land of Palestine and endless, empty, slogans. Contrary to the forecasts, the funeral ended without a confrontation. But following two and a half months of demonstrations against the fence, it seems that a new round of clashes is about to begin at Na'alin. Bookmark to del.icio.us   History in the making N.Y. governor pays historic visit to Orthodox synagogue for Sabbath services. Under the rubble Five Palestinians suffocate to death after Egypt blows up tunnel.

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