Tens of thousands of furious Palestinians vowed Thursday to exact revenge on Israel as the West Bank town of Jenin ground to a halt for the funerals of five militants shot dead by Israeli troops.
Mourners chanted "Israel will pay the price" and "our revenge will be in Tel Aviv and Haifa" as the bodies of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades fighters were carried through the streets.
And the local leader of the group warned that hundreds of fellow Palestinians had offered to take part in suicide attacks and would not be thwarted by Israel's West Bank separation barrier.
As he watched his 24-year-old son Ayman's body being buried in Jenin's main cemetery, Mohammed Sabahna spoke of his pride that his son had died "in the fight for Palestine" but also of his hope that the cycle of killing would come to an end.
"I feel deep sadness but also pride that my son has died as a martyr. It is the highest honour," he said.
But he said that he had no desire to see any other of his three surviving offspring meet the same fate.
Dozens of gunmen fired off volleys as they accompanied the cortege from the morgue among a crowd of more than 20,000. Apart from the show of strength from the Brigades, dozens of flags of the radical Islamist Hamas movement were also on display.
In a show of solidarity with the overwhelmingly Muslim city, bells were rung out from the local Catholic church during the procession.
After a short funeral service, the bodies were then taken for their burial.
Shops were closed after an edict issued by the Brigades over loudspeakers on Wednesday evening.
The governor of Jenin, Ramadan al-Batta, said any reprisal "will be the responsibility of the Israeli army and government.
"This is the biggest funeral I have ever seen. The whole city feels sorrow, pain and much anger," he added.
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