After the Israel Police presented Public Security Minister Omer Barlev with a report on the use of force to quash rioting at the funeral of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, Israel Hayom has learned that the unrest included calls to kill Jews.
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Israel Hayom has also learned that the government instructed the Israel Police commissioner not to make the report public, for fear it would spark escalation.
The violence at the funeral drew international condemnations and added to the sense of grief and outrage across the Arab world that followed the death of Abu Akleh, who was killed on May 11 while covering IDF clashes with armed Palestinians in Jenin.
According to the report, one of the main reasons the police resorted to the use of force was that the reporter's family did not abide by agreements they had made with the police. The report said that the original plan was for the procession to depart from the hospital and include approximately 20 vehicles, but rioters penetrated the hospital grounds and attempted to walk Abu Akleh's coffin out.
"Rocks were thrown at police forces and shahids [martyr] were praised in song, even though she [Abu Akleh] was Christian," the report said.
"Even before it began, the funeral turned into a large-scale campaign of incitement and calls to attack Jews, which demanded that the police use force," officials in the Public Security Ministry, which oversees the police, said.
While the report cited some misuse of force by the police, the team praised the officers.
In a statement, Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai confirmed that he had ordered the probe to "learn lessons and improve the operational procedures" of the police. He appeared to acknowledge police shortcomings, but also cast blame on the mourners.
"One cannot remain indifferent to the difficult images and it is our obligation to probe these matters so that sensitive events like these will not descend into violence by rioters and will retain the required respect," he said.
Israel Hayom has learned that the government has ordered Shabtai to refrain from publishing the report, even though it has been presented to Barlev in full.
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