Israeli police insisted on Saturday that they only engage in the funeral procession of the slain American Jazz reporter Shirin Abu Akleh, because her coffin was stolen by a mob.
“Israeli police prepared yesterday to facilitate the peaceful and dignified burial of journalist Shirin Abu Akleh and coordinate funeral arrangements with her family. Unfortunately, hundreds of rebels have tried to sabotage the ceremony and harm police,” Israeli police said in a statement.
In a series of earlier tweets on Friday, Israeli cops also said the rebels were so out of control that they even threatened the driver of Akle’s hearse before trying to grab the coffin.
Shocking video footage shows Israeli authorities rushing to the crowd in Jerusalem, waving batons and subsequently attacking load-bearing graves – almost causing Abu Akle’s coffin to fall to the ground.
Shocking video images show Israeli authorities rushing to the crowd in Jerusalem with batons.AP
“On Friday, about 300 rebels arrived at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Jerusalem and prevented family members from loading the coffin on the hearse to travel to the cemetery – as planned and coordinated with the family,” Israeli cops tweeted.
“Instead, the crowd threatened the hearse driver and then continued to carry the coffin in an unplanned procession to the cemetery on foot. This runs counter to the wishes of the Abu Aqlah family and the security coordination that was planned to protect the large number of mourners.
“Israeli police instruct the coffin to be returned to the hearse, as did the coffin [European Union] ambassador and Shirin Abu-Akleh’s family, but the crowd refused. Israeli police intervened to disperse the crowd and prevent them from taking the coffin so that the funeral could go according to plan.
Israeli police detained a man during the funeral.AP
“During the riot caused by the crowd, glass bottles and other objects were thrown, injuring both the mourners and the police.
President Joe Biden called for an investigation by Israeli police with a truncheon, which rushed into the march, and White House spokesman Jen Psaki called the incident “deeply disturbing.”
The incident happened just before the closed-door meeting at the White House between Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Mourners carry Shirin Abu Akleh at her funeral in Jerusalem.AP
Abu Akle, 51, was fatally shot in the head on Wednesday while covering an Israeli attack in the northern West Bank city of Jenin. She comes from a Palestinian Christian family and has worked for the Qatar-based news channel since 1997.
Israel has called for a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority and the PA to hand over the bullet that killed Abu Akleh to a forensic analysis to determine who fired it. The PA declined, saying it would conduct its own investigation and send the results to the International Criminal Court.
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