Police say they made efforts for ‘respectable funeral’ but rioters caused disruption

In a statement, police say they had held dialogue with Abu Akleh’s family ahead of time in order to “enable a respectable funeral.”

“Unfortunately under the auspices of the funeral and taking cynical advantage of it, hundreds of people began disrupting the public order before it even began,” police say.

Violence erupts between Israeli security forces and Palestinian mourners carrying the casket of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh out of a hospital, before being transported to a church and then her resting place, in Jerusalem, on May 13, 2022. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

“As the coffin was about to exit the hospital, stones began to be thrown at officers from the hospital’s plaza, and the officers were forced to use riot dispersal means,” the statement add.

הלווייתה של העיתונאית שירין אבו עאקלה בירושלים הופסקה. עימותים במקום והמשטרה משתמשת באלות. ארון הקבורה כמעט נפל. pic.twitter.com/lwRZd6tAot

— סולימאן מסוודה سليمان مسودة (@SuleimanMas1) May 13, 2022

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Police also release a video in which an officer, outside the hospital grounds, is addressing the crowd over a loudspeaker.

“If you don’t stop these chants and [Palestinian] nationalistic songs we will have to disperse you using force and we won’t let the funeral take place,” the officer says in the video.

עימותים בין כוחות הביטחון לצעירים ערבים בהלווית העיתונאית שירין אבו עאקלה בבית החולים הצרפתי במזרח העיר.@allworldnews111 pic.twitter.com/cSlQAq4DLq

— איתמר כרמון | itamar carmon (@itamarcarmon) May 13, 2022