Israeli police forces stormed the grounds of a Jerusalem hospital on Friday as the coffin containing the body of the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was killed during an Israeli raid in Jenin was being carried on its way to the church for final rituals before burial.
TV images showed the Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh’s coffin nearly falling to the ground as police grabbed Palestinian flags from the crowd around the procession outside St Joseph’s hospital in Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli police threatened to storm the hospital if the mourners continue to raise Palestinian flags or chant anti-occupation slogans.
An Israeli police officer was filmed addressing the crowd: “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.”
Abu Akleh’s coffin later managed to leave the hospital grounds by vehicle and arrived at a Jerusalem church for her funeral.
Shireen Abu Akleh was killed on Wednesday while covering Israeli raid into Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
