Flash grenades in Jerusalem
Riots at funeral of slain reporter
May 13, 2022 at 4:29 p.m
A well-known al-Jazeera reporter is shot dead during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank. It has not yet been finally clarified by whom. At her funeral violent clashes erupted between the Israeli police and the mourners.
Confrontations broke out in Jerusalem during the funeral procession for a reporter who was killed on the Al-Jazeera TV channel. Hundreds of violent demonstrators caused unrest and threw stones at police officers, the Israeli police said. According to Palestinian sources, the security forces responded with stun grenades. Shirin Abu Akleh, who was shot dead in the West Bank, is to be buried in a Christian Orthodox cemetery next to the old town.
As the coffin containing the body of Abu Akleh was brought out of Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Israeli police dispersed a crowd of people waving Palestinian flags. Pictures released by Palestine TV showed the coffin nearly falling to the ground as police dispersed the crowd and grabbed the flags. AFP journalists saw Israeli forces enter the hospital compound in Israeli-occupied and annexed eastern Jerusalem.
Abu Akleh was one of the best-known journalists at the Qatar-based Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera. She was killed by gunfire during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. It was initially unclear who was responsible for the death of the 51-year-old, who is well known in the Arab world. The Israeli army on Wednesday reported a fierce firefight involving dozens of Palestinian militants during a raid in Jenin. Israel’s army recently published interim results of its investigation into the process, according to which it is currently not possible to say “unambiguously” where the fatal shot came from.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on the other hand, blames Israel and spoke of a “crime of execution”. Israel has denied the allegations and called for a joint investigation. However, the Palestinians have refused.
Since March, a wave of terror has killed 18 people in Israel, and Palestinians in the West Bank shot dead an Israeli security guard. 17 people died in attacks in the Israeli cities of Beersheva, Hadera, Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv and Elad. As recently became known, an IS supporter stabbed a man from Moldova to death in Jerusalem on March 21. This brings the number of people killed in attacks in Israel and the West Bank since March 21 to 19.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 20 Palestinians have been killed since the end of March. Several Palestinians have been killed in military operations, but also in their own attacks and clashes with the army.