Police rushed the funeral procession of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh this afternoon who was killed on Wednesday during an IDF counterterrorism raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Footage on social media shows Israeli Police intervening in the crowd accompanying Shireen Abu Akleh’s coffin in Jerusalem, using batons to disperse gathered mourners.
In a statement, Israeli Police accused some in the crowd of throwing "stones and other objects toward the police officers" and damaging the funeral procession vehicle, "even trying to prevent it from driving once the coffin was inside".
Six arrests were made "in order to allow the funeral to continue in a safe and lawful manner", the statement added.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at Jaffa Gate outside the Old City of Jerusalem this afternoon as the body of veteran journalist Abu Akleh arrived ahead of her funeral nearby.
As crowds swelled, police locked down the Old City with barricades and deployed more forces in the area to prevent even more people from joining the procession, The Times of Israel reports.
According to police, some in the crowd threw rocks and other objects at officers and were playing nationalistic songs, which “forced” them to rush in and make arrests.
Footage on social media shows a large number of police standing in front of Palestinian mourners carrying the coffin before charging in and clashing with the crowds.
Watch: Violence erupts as Al Jazeera journalist #ShireenAbuAkleh’s coffin emerges from a #Jerusalem hospital ahead of her burial procession.https://t.co/Q9anriHv7Y pic.twitter.com/WZ1NcKGxUn
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) May 13, 2022
Other videos circulating online show Israeli Police removing Palestinian flags from vehicles that were part of the procession.
Police said in an initial statement to the media that they had held a dialogue with Abu Akleh’s family in advance to “enable a respectful funeral”, but accused some in the procession of throwing stones at officers which “forced” them to use “riot dispersal means”.
After the initial intervention, reports from Jerusalem say that the procession proceeded much more calmly, with over 10,000 people in attendance. Palestinian scouts played out a memorial reel on bagpipes and beat on drums, and some threw flowers at the casket.
Police allowed them to form what has been described as a “human tide” from Jaffa Gate to the Christian cemetery at Mount Zion. Her coffin reached the gravesite at around 5.30pm local time where she is being buried alongside her parents.
Palestinians reportedly burst into applause around her coffin and threw petals of flowers.
In a statement defending its actions released later in the afternoon, Israeli Police said: “Incitement and violent riots began in the hospital plaza both before and at the beginning of the funeral procession.
"The rioters hurled stones and other objects toward the police officers who, in response, acted to disperse the riot. The officers arrested a handful of the rioters in order to allow the funeral to continue in a safe and lawful manner.
"The stones and objects were hurled at officers from rioters who were near the coffin at the hospital (as can be seen in the attached documentation).
"These rioters damaged the funeral procession vehicle, even trying to prevent it from driving once the coffin was inside. The Israel Police operated to prevent the funerals disruption and continuation as planned.
"Unfortunately, there are those who choose to cynically use the death of the journalist with ill intent.
"The funeral is continuing at this time.
"As of now, six suspects have been arrested who violated public order and attacked police officers both before and at the beginning of the funeral procession."
