An American teen is beaten by Israeli police
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Mohammed Abu Khedair, a Palestinian teenager who was abducted and killed in Jerusalem this week, died from being burned alive and hit on the head with a blunt object, according to Palestinian General Prosecutor Mohammed al-Auwewy, citing a medical autopsy.
Al-Auwewy said the autopsy discovered traces of smoke inside the lungs of the 16-year-old, indicating that it was inhaled while the fire was burning.
Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said his country is aggressively investigating the killing. \"We'll get to the bottom of it and catch those responsible,\" he told CNN on Saturday.
The teenager's death sparked widespread outrage among Palestinians, many of whom believe he was killed in retaliation for the killing of three Israeli teens. Israeli authorities are investigating who killed Khedair and why, said Netanyahu.
After the Palestinians teen's funeral on Friday, more than 60 people were injured in clashes with Israeli security forces in parts of Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, a group that said it was involved in evacuating injured Palestinians. It said the injuries mostly involved rubber bullets fired at the upper body and chest.
Israeli police said 13 of their officers were slightly injured in clashes in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat, where Palestinian protesters were throwing rocks at police, who responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas.
U.S. cousin of slain teen beaten, relatives say
Two videographers recorded men in the uniform of Israeli security forces holding down and pummeling a teenager in Shuafat. Relatives say he is a U.S. citizen from Florida and a cousin of Abu Khedair.
Tariq Khdeir, 15, is a high school sophomore in Tampa, family members there said. He was visiting his Palestinian relatives in Jerusalem for the first time in over a decade when he was attacked and detained outside the home of his cousin, who was kidnapped and killed on Wednesday.
The two videos, which were posted independently, say the beating occurred on Thursday.
The Israeli Defense Forces issued a statement Saturday seeking to distance themselves from the beating.
\"It seems that the Israel Police Forces were involved in the incident, and not the IDF Forces,\" the statement said.
The Justice Ministry has announced it will investigate the incident captured in the video.
CNN's Ben Wedeman spoke to Tariq's mother, Suha Abu Khdeir, who said she just couldn't watch the video of the beating.
\"I don't want to see the video, I don't want to hear the video. I don't want to hear it. I don't know what I am going to hear. Am I going to hear him screaming? Am I going to hear him calling for help?\"
She said she visited her son in the hospital, but he remains in custody. She did not know why he was arrested.
One neighbor shot a video of the beating and distributed it to family and a television station. Another video was shot from the other side of the street and posted to YouTube.
Relatives watched the video and told CNN that the teen is Tariq Khdeir. Relatives released pictures of the bruised teenager with swelling on his lips and nose.
The men delivered more than 20 blows to the youth over a period of two minutes. He did not appear to be struggling and police carried away his limp body afterward.
Both videos start after the incident began, and it's not clear why Khdeir was attacked.
Regev, Netanyahu's spokesman, said he had seen the videos on CNN.
\"I think people who have that video should take it straight to the Israeli police,\" he said. \"There is a separate department in our Ministry of Justice who will investigate that sort of thing.\"
Regev said he did not know the details of this case. \"That should not happen,\" he said. \"Obviously, it is forbidden under Israeli law to beat up a suspect who is in handcuffs.\"
\"It's attempted murder,\" Suha Abu Khdeir said of her son's beating.
Calls for U.S. to intervene
Khdeir's father told CNN that a U.S. consular officer visited the teen in a Israeli detention center in Jerusalem. The officer told Khdeir's father that the 15-year-old does not remember much of what happened during his arrest.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called the reports \"troubling\" and called for a \"speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force.\"
The Council on American-Islamic Relations urged the United States to help free the teen.
\"It is the duty of American officials to intervene and secure the release of an American citizen who was so viciously attacked,\" said Hassan Shibly, executive director of CAIR-Florida.
Khdeir is expected to appear at the Jerusalem magistrate court at 11 a.m. Sunday (4 a.m. ET), according to his father.
Rockets from Gaza get Israeli response
The Israeli Air Force successfully carried out an airstrike in southern Gaza on a militant who earlier Saturday had fired rockets at the town of Ofakim in southern Israel, Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement.
Initial indications suggest that three rockets were intercepted above the area of Ashkelon, IDF said.
At least 14 rockets have been fired at Israel since midnight Saturday with one being intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome above Be'er Sheva, according to IDF.
Twelve rockets landed in Israeli territory and another fell in Palestinian territory.