2 Die in Gaza Riots After Death Verdict
Two teen-age Palestinian protesters were killed Wednesday after riots broke out over a security court ruling that imposed a death sentence on a police officer from a powerful Palestinian family.
Raed Attar was sentenced to death for his role in a February shootout that killed another police officer, Capt. Rifat Joudeh.
Attar and Joudeh were from prominent families in Rafah, a town bordering Egypt, and belonged to one of the several Palestinian security services.
It was unclear when Attar, 25, would face the firing squad; a death sentence handed down last month in a child rape case was carried out within hours of sentencing.
After Wednesday’s sentencing, members of Attar’s family gathered outside the Joudeh home and began throwing stones and bottles.
Palestinian police opened fire, and two youths, ages 17 and 18, were killed.
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