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| His coffin almost collapsed during a police riot on Friday as his body was being taken away. (Photo: reuters) |
In East Jerusalem, Israeli police stormed the funeral of Al Jazeera reporter Shirin Abu Aqila and charged batons, causing a stampede and injuring several people.
Qatar-based News Channel reporter Shirin Abu Aqila was covering an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank when he was shot dead.
Al Jazeera says Shireen Abu Aqila, 51, was "deliberately shot" by Israeli troops.
The Israeli prime minister has blamed "Palestinian gunmen".
His coffin almost collapsed during a police brutality on Friday as his body was being taken away.
The footage shows police in the hospital compound pushing the crowd and torturing people. Police say he was stoned and had to use "mob dispersal methods".
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| An illegal state, Israeli police are arresting a Palestinian attending a funeral (photo: reuters) |
What did the reporter on the spot see?
We were in the parking lot of St. Joseph's Hospital where hundreds of Palestinians had already gathered and a car was ready to carry the coffin of Shereen Abu Aqila.
Shereen was a Palestinian Christian, so a flower cross was made for her and a pile of written condolences. She also had a press jacket with flowers. Some were chanting slogans and waving Palestinian flags.
Suddenly the gates of the compound were closed and heavily armed Israeli border police gathered at the gates. Some policemen were on horseback. Given the situation, the situation seemed to be deteriorating.
Then some people came out of the building holding his coffin. The plan was to put the coffin in the car and take it to the church, but now the coffin is being carried to the door.
What happened next was extraordinary. As I was behind the crowd, I could not see what was happening at the front, but suddenly the Israeli police started pushing the crowd back, including the coffin and its bearers.
They then fired stun grenades at mourners and the press and stormed the compound.
I saw some plastic bottles being thrown back but I saw nothing more.
People started fleeing to the hospital for shelter. I saw a woman with a small child in a state of panic and she was almost crushed in the stampede.
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| It is beyond comprehension Why the United Nations has remained a silent spectator to terrorism and bestiality perpetrated by an illegitimate state of Israel. (Photo: getty images) |
Then the sound of stun grenades echoing in the corridors and wards of the hospital. I saw that at least one person was injured.
The whole affair lasted for about 10 minutes and we kept looking for a safe way back to the car park. When we got out, the coffin was being put in the car and taken away.
Videos from those moments now show that Israeli police were torturing people carrying the coffin of Shirin Abu Aqila as people fled for refuge inside the hospital. At one point, the coffin almost collapsed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply disturbed" by the "clash" between Israeli police and Palestinians. At the same time, White House spokeswoman Jane Sackie called the scenes of police brutality on mourners "disturbing."
"We regret the interference in what should have been a peaceful procession," he said.
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| (Photo: Aljazeera) |
The Palestinian Authority and Al Jazeera claim that Shirin Abu Aqila was shot dead by Israeli forces, but Israel says it is not possible at this time to determine what happened and that she may have been shot by Palestinians. I am
An Israeli army insider report on Thursday said he had been killed, possibly by "Palestinian gunmen" or in retaliation for a soldier's "firing on his car." Some pills.
Who was Shereen Abu Aqila?
Abu Aqila, a 51-year-old Palestinian American, was a senior journalist with Al Jazeera's Arabic news channel and had been covering the Israeli-Palestinian issue for nearly two decades.
On Wednesday, Shireen Abu Aqila was reporting on Israeli raids on refugee camps in Jenin. The Israeli military says the raids were carried out in search of "suspected terrorists".
Ali Samudi, another Palestinian journalist and Al Jazeera producer, was also shot and wounded along with Shereen Abu Aqila.
His last rites were performed on Thursday in the compound of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, where his coffin was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.
President Abbas called him a "martyr of free words" and said he had "sacrificed his life" in defense of the Palestinian cause.
He said Israel was "fully responsible for his death" and that it would take the matter to the International Criminal Court, which investigates possible crimes.
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