Coffin carrying veteran journalist’s body shown falling as Israeli police beat mourners with batons

Mourners had marched from Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate to Mount Zion cemetery. They were met with violence at the St. Joseph hospital advanced by Israeli police when they tried to hold Abu Akleh's coffin, which Al Jazeera footage showed being rocked and then falling out of the fingers of some of the pallbearers, as Israeli police beat them with batons.

Crowds walked behind as Abu Akleh's rose-covered coffin was carried by pallbearers and lain right down to rest subsequent to her parents' grave. Church bells echoed by the cemetery.

The burial was going down a day after a memorial procession that introduced 1000's to the West Bank metropolis of Ramallah.

Mourners flocked to the city's streets on Friday and huddled in entrance of St. Joseph hospital in East Jerusalem, where Abu Akleh's body remained until the burial. Muslims performed Friday prayers and mourners chanted "strolling, strolling on foot," demanding that Abu Akleh's coffin be carried and transported on foot from the hospital to the Greek Catholic church, the place a service might be held, after which to the burial web site. Israeli police have been lined exterior the hospital, according to CNN reporters. Police roadblocks were set up around the hospital.

Mourners carried Abu Akleh's coffin out of the hospital, however had been met with strong resistance from Israeli police who compelled them to move the body by car. A flash bomb and tear fuel have been fired, in keeping with CNN reporters.

Al Jazeera live footage confirmed Israeli police beating mourners with batons as they struggled to hold Abu Akleh's coffin. The physique was in flip introduced again inside the hospital and then transported by automotive, stated Al Jazeera.

Footage on social media and Al Jazeera showed Abu Akleh's coffin being rocked back and forth after which falling as Israeli police beat pallbearers with batons. It was not instantly clear if the coffin hit the bottom.

Israeli police in an announcement mentioned that "hundreds of rioters began to disrupt public order, even earlier than the funeral started," as they labored to secure the procession.

"A whole bunch of individuals gathered outdoors the French hospital (St. Joseph hospital) in Sheikh Jarrah and started chanting nationalist incitement," added the statement.

"In the direction of the exit of the casket from the hospital, rioters began throwing stones toward the policemen from the French hospital plaza, and the policemen have been pressured to act."

Hundreds had been packed inside and outside the church as Abu Akleh's physique arrived. Girls were heard ululating in mourning and clergymen sang Christian hymns in Arabic because the coffin, draped in Palestinian flags, was carried via the group.

The circumstances of her demise remain unclear. The Palestinian Authority on Thursday denied Israel's offer of a joint investigation, insisting on an unbiased course of and vowing to strive those accused of her killing to the International Criminal Court docket (ICC).

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh advised Al Jazeera on Thursday that the outcomes of their investigation might be launched quickly and can include the autopsy report.

Israeli navy investigators confiscated the guns of some IDF troops as a part of their inquiry, reported the Washington Put up on Thursday, citing an unnamed IDF official. The weapons were taken in order that they are often made out there for ballistics testing, the official mentioned.

Givara Al-Buderi, a fellow Al Jazeera correspondent and a close private pal of Abu Akleh, stated she saw the entry wound of a bullet just above the fitting eyebrow and was told by the doctor that a part of the bullet had remained lodged in Abu Akleh's skull.

Al-Buderi was known as by docs to assist take away Abu Akleh's clothing and alter her for the funeral.

"We took off her clothes and had to put a white costume on her," Al-Buderi instructed CNN, "I attempted to place my hand behind her head, however there was nothing there."

"I felt round but there was nothing, nothing left."

An earlier model of this story incorrectly stated where Shireen Abu Akleh's funeral service was as a result of be held. It was being held at a Greek Catholic Church.

CNN's Nadeen Ebrahim, Mostafa Salem and Celine Alkhaldi in Abu Dhabi contributed reporting.