Serious chaos at the mass funeral of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jerusalem

Thousands of people said goodbye Friday in Jerusalem to journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed Wednesday while covering an Israeli Army raid in the West Bank and the funeral was marked by mixed anxiety and anger, as well as Clashes between some attendees and Police.

Events began with the transfer of the body of the veteran Palestinian journalist from Saint Joseph’s Hospital, in occupied East Jerusalem, to the church where a religious ceremony was held before his funeral.

Before a crowd of Palestinians, a group of people came out carrying the coffin on their shoulders and clashed with Israeli Police officers, who beat those present with batons, almost causing the coffin to collapse. of the journalist.

dozens were injured

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service reported 33 people they had to be taken care of product of the police case against the attendees, and six of them had to be transferred to a hospital.

The Israeli Police, for its part, pointed that out “The mob threw rocks and other objects towards the troops, who in response acted to disperse them.

One of the main elements of the tension, both on departure from the hospital and the rest of the day, was that many of those present were waving Palestinian flags, something Israeli security forces considered a threat. incitement to violence and a disturbance in the peace.

After hospital incidents, the coffin was moved to a vehicle burial in a Greek Catholic mosque church in the Old City, also located in the busy eastern part of the city.

Hundreds of faithful gathered there, inside and outside the church, where friends, neighbors, relatives and members of the local community, as well as diplomats and religious authorities, awaited him.

In just over an hour a mass was held, as hundreds of people shouted from outside in support of the journalist, an icon in the Arab world after 25 years of experience on the Qatari network Al Jazeera.

Those present chanted slogans in memory of Abu Akleh, in addition to a series of political slogans and against the Israeli Police, whose agents charged them more than once, triggering a series of arrests and violent clashes.

Police indicated that a total of six people were arrested during the funeral services, which were attended by some 10,000 people, according to Israeli media.

road to cemetery

Before an emotional crowd, the coffin with the journalist’s body left the church covered with a wreath of flowers and carried on the shoulders towards the Catholic cemetery of Mount Zion, where their parents rest.

Several thousand people joined the funeral procession an intense processionvery strange in this part of the city, decorated with countless Palestinian flags and posters with the face of Abu Akleh, and under the shouts of “We want freedom”, “Jerusalem is Arab” and “we will die for Shireen”.

Some of those present as well The flags of Israel are broken, although there was no reaction from the Police, whose troops did not interfere with the road or be present at the cemetery.

Already in the cemetery, the screaming and the tension are over gave way to grief, holding the thousands who had gathered there to say goodbye to the reporter, a native of the city, Christian and with dual Palestinian and American citizenship.

With the sound of chimes in the background, under the shining sun and a lot in absolute silence, his relatives gave him up. the last farewell before he was buried and placed a Palestinian flag and crown on his grave, followed by widespread applause.

Among them was a senior official from Al Jazeera, who came primarily from Qatar and who, like the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and some journalists who were with Abu Akleh when he died, blamed Israeli troops sa the blast that ended his life.

investigation into his death

The Israeli government, for its part, first accused the Palestinian militiamen and later stressed that at the moment it is impossible to determine who fired the gun, emphasizing the need to carry out a joint investigationthing that the ANP denies.

A report released this Friday by the Army with the first results of the preliminary investigation is being repeated the impossibility of reaching an accurate conclusion so farsomething also indicated by the Palestinian doctors who performed the autopsy on the day of his death.

“It is not possible without a doubt to determine the source of the shooting,” the Israeli military spokesman said today, about the bullet that hit Abu Akleh’s head on Wednesday morning, as he covered up clashes between of Palestinian troops and militiamen in Jenin, north of the occupied West Bank and of the hottest areas in the region.

The funeral marked the end of three consecutive days of ceremonies in honor of the journalist, which began Wednesday in cities north of the West Bank, continued yesterday with a state funeral at the Palestinian presidential palace in Ramallah and ended today with his burial in Jerusalem.

The author is a journalist for EFE

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