Israel to probe police attack on journalist’s funeral mourners
Police attack on funeral mourners draws international condemnation
Israeli forces intervene Palestinian mourners carrying the casket of slain Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh out of French Hospital, before being transported to Jerusalem's Old City, where she will be buried at the Mount Zion Protestant Cemetery in Jerusalem, on May 13, 2022. ( Mostafa Alkharouf - Anadolu Agency )
JERUSALEM
Israeli police on Saturday launched an investigation into assaults on Palestinian mourners during the funeral procession for Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in occupied East Jerusalem.
A police statement cited by The Times of Israel newspaper said the investigation was opened upon orders from Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Public Security Minister Omer Barlev.
"The Israel police will be looking into the events that ensued during the funeral," the statement said.
The Israeli move came in the wake of international condemnations of the police attack on mourners during Abu Akleh's funeral using batons and stun grenades, which almost caused the toppling of the coffin.
Police said the results of the investigation will be presented to officials in the coming days.
On Friday, Israeli police surrounded mourners and used stun grenades and batons to assault pallbearers carrying Abu Akleh’s casket as it was being carried out of the French hospital in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Abu Akleh, a veteran 51 year-old journalist, was covering an Israeli military raid near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank when she was shot dead on Wednesday. Palestinian officials and her employer, Al Jazeera, say she was murdered by Israeli forces.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar
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