Background
Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian journalist, was laid to rest last Friday, May 13, 2022. Mourners carried the coffin from the French Hospital to the Mount Zion cemetery, which is located south of the hospital in the center of Jerusalem. Mourners and pallbearers were attacked by Israeli police just meters from the hospital's gate, as captured on video. Western officials condemned the Israeli attacks, calling them "disturbing and unjustified."
This wave of denunciation prompted the Israeli police to resume posting on its Twitter account, which had been inactive since January. They issued a statement justifying the attack on Shireen Abu Akleh's funeral mourners, followed by a video clip purporting to show the mourners assaulting Israeli forces. After confirming in the first statement that "rioters attempted to sabotage the funeral and harm the police," Israeli police issued a second statement indicating that an investigation into the incident had been opened.
Israeli Police’s Statement
At 5:50 p.m. on Friday, May 13, about five hours after Shireen Abu Akleh's body was released from the French Hospital, the Israeli police account on Twitter issued a statement justifying the use of violence against mourners in front of the hospital, as shown in the Tweet below taken from their official Twitter account.
In their statement, Israeli police claimed that they worked to ensure that the funeral went off without a hitch before the riots began, which they were forced to deal with. "Rioters threw stones and other objects at police who dispersed the riots and arrested a group of rioters to allow the funeral to proceed safely and legally," according to the statement. It was the "rioters" near the coffin who began throwing stones and damaging the funeral procession car, he added.
According to the statement, those closest to the coffin were the perpetrators of the violence that prompted the Israeli police to respond. Furthermore, according to the Israeli statement, the alleged riots began on the hospital grounds prior to and during the funeral. However, video footage of the funeral does not appear to support the claims made.
Misbar compared the Israeli version of the funeral and journalists' follow-up to the Abu Akleh family's statements to clarify discrepancies in the Israeli narrative.
Tony Abu Akleh Denies Coordination with the Israeli Police
A vigil with Palestinian flags was held in front of the French Hospital's gate shortly before 12 p.m. on Friday. Mourners began to gather peacefully, chanting, with no signs of violence or Israeli police presence. Journalists with cameras were stationed on all sides, including the area between the mourners and the hospital's inner gate, where Abu Akleh's body would exit, as depicted below.
Photo Description: Photo of mourners gathered outside the hospital.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera correspondents were reporting on the ground via live broadcasts: Their tweets, which are shown below in Arabic translation, state that "Israeli police began arriving in the vicinity of the French hospital" around 12:30 p.m. The coffin had not yet been opened. There was tension but no violence in the air, and the police were still stationed outside the hospital yard.
Photo Description: Tweets from Al Jazeera reporting on the developments.
The police gradually began to arrive in the square to obstruct the funeral procession, particularly after the coffin was removed from the hospital. The police abruptly stopped the funeral procession and ran towards the mourners, pushing them back to the hospital gate.
Israeli police say they worked with Shireen Abu Akleh's family to plan the funeral and were present to ensure everything went smoothly, but they don't say what arrangements were made with the journalist's family or what the intended "smoothness" is.
However, according to an Al-Jazeera correspondent, in urgent news reported by the Al-Jazeera Breaking Twitter account, Israeli police stipulated that Palestinian flags should not be waived and that Shireen Abu Akleh's body be transported by hearse, while mourners insisted on physically carrying the coffin. According to the tweet below.
Despite claims of coordination with the Abu Akleh family, Shireen's brother Tony Abu Akleh confirmed in a statement to Al-Jazeera that no funeral arrangements were coordinated. "The occupation forces used the threat to try to impose restrictions on funerals," Tony said at 11:40 a.m., according to the Al-Jazeera Breaking Twitter account. "The Israeli occupation forces are waiting for the funeral, and we hope that it will pass peacefully," he added.
Photo Description: Tony Abu Akleh’s statements in Arabic on the AJ Breaking Twitter account.
Tony Abu Akleh's statements were made about an hour before Israeli police arrived near the hospital, while the body was still inside. As a result, there does not appear to have been any prior coordination between the police and the Abu Akleh family. On the other hand, it is possible that Israeli police had previously threatened the family with restrictions on the funeral.
According to a CNN correspondent, prior to the release of the coffin, Israeli police stated that they would not allow a funeral procession on foot, which is consistent with Abu Akleh's brother's statement about "imposing restrictions on the funeral procession."
Photo Description: CNN Arabic report that Israeli Police said they would not allow a funeral procession on foot.
The chants of mourners calling for the funeral to be carried out on foot are clearly audible during the live broadcast of the funeral. The chants can be heard in the video clip below beginning at the fifteenth minute, as the funeral procession carriage enters the hospital yard.
The Israeli police also claimed that riots broke out before and during the funeral, but footage and live broadcasts contradict this claim. The video clearly shows mourners carrying Palestinian flags and chanting without any "riot" in the hospital's walled courtyard prior to the body's exit. As the videos show, no violence occurred until the police entered the square and obstructed the funeral procession once the coffin was removed. This, in turn, refutes the Israeli police's claim that they were working to ensure the funeral procession went smoothly, when it appears they intended to stop it and enforce their earlier decision that there would be no funeral procession on foot.
Israeli Police Attack Mourners
An Israeli police officer threatened to storm the hospital, according to an Al-Jazeera correspondent. Before storming the hospital's courtyard, Israeli police were already stationed nearby.
Photo Description: Photo shows the Israeli Police waiting close to the French Hospital.
The Israeli forces moved to the front of the hospital's outer gate. There had been no "riots" up to that point, as claimed by Israeli police. According to the police, the funeral procession car was in the hospital yard, and no one was violent. The square had no stones, only some plastic water bottles lying on the ground, as seen in the images below.
Photo Description: Photos show only plastic bottles on the floor, no stones visible.
As mourners insisted on carrying the coffin and having the funeral on foot, the funeral procession car left the hospital yard. The coffin was then carried out by Shireen Abu Akleh's family. Mourners chanted as they walked towards the hospital's outer gate, carrying the coffin on their shoulders. The Israeli police were waiting for them there. The gate opened, and Israeli forces began to arrive, forcing the mourners to return inside and preventing them from leaving the hospital.
Photo Description: Mourners carrying the coffin on their shoulders out of the hospital.
While pushing them back into the hospital area, Israeli police started attacking the mourners and coffin bearers. Beginning at minute 53 of the live broadcast, it is clear that batons were used to beat the mourners in order to force them to return.
Photo Description: Israeli Police officers advance and beat mourners with batons.
After being pushed back with batons, the Israeli police force advances forward in the image. The red circle depicts a mourner who was repeatedly struck with an Israeli baton. According to a CNN reporter, Israeli police threw at least two stun grenades as well as tear gas canisters at the mourners. The following two photos confirm this.
Photo Description: Israeli Police use stun grenades and tear gas on the crowd.
According to the live feeds, Israeli police claims that the riots began before and after the funeral procession were false. There were no riots before the funeral procession, just a peaceful gathering with chanting. As a result, the claim that Israeli police acted in response to alleged riots is also false. According to the videos, the clash occurred when police entered the hospital yard and began beating mourners with batons in an attempt to prevent them from leading the funeral procession on foot.
Photo Description: Tweets from Israel Police sharing the claim.
Israeli Police Accuses Mourners of Throwing Stones
Immediately following the statement that riots began both before and after the funeral procession, Israeli police posted a video on their Twitter account, claiming to show mourners attacking Israeli forces with stones and other objects.
The video consists of two clips, both taken after Israeli forces had already attacked the mourners at the hospital yard's gate. The first clip of the video clearly shows the coffin pulling back to the middle of the hospital yard as the Israeli police advance, while the second clip shows the coffin being redirected back near the hospital's inner gate.
Coffin Redirected by Israeli Forces
At the beginning of the Israeli attack on the mourners, a coffin is seen near the hospital yard's exit gate. Returning to the live broadcast, the scene becomes clearer: Israeli attacks on mourners, including those carrying the coffin, continue using batons to push them back.
Meanwhile, after the police had advanced and the coffin had almost reached the center of the square, it became clear that objects were being thrown from behind at the Israeli forces. The objects were not made of stone, but of plastic water bottles and flag-hanging sticks. Clearly done in an attempt by mourners to defend themselves against Israeli attacks with heavy batons.
Photo Description: Mourners throw only plastic water bottles and thin plastic sticks that hold flags.
The items being thrown were all thrown in a longitudinal manner, similar to throwing a water bottle. Meanwhile, Israeli police were increasingly using batons to push mourners back. Another angle shows the beginning of the Israeli stampede-like confrontation on the mourners at the hospital yard gate, as shown in the video below.
In the first clip of the video, which was released by the Israeli police's Twitter account, a person in a black T-shirt appears from behind, throwing a white object at Israeli forces. Focusing on the white item he throws, it is discovered that it resembles the long white items, which were identified as plastic water bottles.
The next snapshot of the same clip reveals that it is a bottle, based on its dimensions and the way it is held by its tip while the rest of it is up.
Photo Description: Photo shows plastic bottles being thrown.
For dimensional clarity, the hands are outlined in red, and the bottle is enclosed in a green circle. In the second clip of the same video, accounts on social media published what they claimed was a fabricated body thrown by one of the mourners. However, cameras from a different angle show that the mourner was not throwing anything, and that Israeli police were beating him and the other coffin bearers with batons until the coffin nearly fell.
The analysis and examination of the videos and live broadcasts that documented the funeral procession demonstrate that the Israeli police allegations are misleading. On May 14, the Israeli police issued a statement announcing that they would be investigating the incidents. However, in the same statement, they repeated the same false and misleading allegations, claiming that the riots were started by mourners and that their use of force was in response to the mourners' violence.
This article was written by Mohammed El Etr
Translated by Dina Faisal
Misbar’s Sources:
