Hundreds of Palestinians chanted anti-Israel slogans and clashed with security forces during the funeral of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed Monday during a gunfight between IDF soldiers and terrorists in the West Bank city of Jenin.
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The Palestinian Authority and the Qatari media outlet have accused Israel of "executing" the veteran reporter, with PA President Mahmoud Abbas saying he will turn to the International Criminal Court over the matter.
The PA, however, has refused multiple requests by Israel to hold a joint investigation into the incident. Ramallah has also refused to allow Israel to test the bullet removed from Abu Akleh's body. Such forensic testing is crucial to determining culpability.
Thousands of people, many waving Palestinian flags and chanting "Palestine! Palestine!" attended Friday's funeral in east Jerusalem.
Abu Akleh, 51, was a household name across the Arab world, synonymous with Al-Jazeera's coverage of the West Bank. A 25-year veteran of the satellite channel, she was revered by Palestinians as a local hero.
Ramallah's media reported that it was the largest Palestinian funeral in Jerusalem since Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian leader and scion of a prominent family, died in 2001.
Ahead of the burial, a large crowd gathered to escort Abu Akleh's casket from an east Jerusalem hospital to a Catholic church in the nearby Old City.
Many of the mourners held Palestinian flags and chanted what the Israel Police said was "nationalist incitement," hurled rocks at the officers, and ignored calls to stop and threw.
"The policemen were forced to act," police said.
An Israeli official said the details of the funeral had been coordinated with the family ahead of time to ensure it would run smoothly, but that "masses began gathering around the hearse of Shireen Abu Akleh and chaos ensued," preventing the procession from going along its intended route.
At one point, Israeli riot troops clashed with rioters standing close to the pallbearers, causing them to briefly drop the casket in a shocking start the funeral.
Abu Akleh's brother, Tony, said the scenes "prove that Shireen's reports and honest words ... had a powerful impact."
Al-Jazeera correspondent Givara Budeiri said the police crackdown was "like killing Abu Akleh again. … It seems her voice isn't silent," she said during a report by the broadcaster.
Meanwhile, the initial IDF investigation into the incident, which the Palestinian are refusing to cooperate with, proposes two scenarios for what caused the tragic turn of events, although it stressed it cannot, at this time, determine who fired the fatal shot.
The first scenario suggests the reported was hit by Palestinian fire, as accounts from the raid, as well as footage of the scene show the Palestinian terrorists firing indiscriminately at the direction where she and her crew were standing.
The second scenario suggests a case of possible errant IDF sniper fire, saying it was possible that the reporter, who was standing about 200 yards from the Israeli troops, was struck by a soldier's fire toward a terrorist who was firing at them.
The IDF stressed that a professional ballistics test was essential.
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