Palestinians not even allowed to mourn: Soldiers and police officers attack participants at four funerals

On 13 May 2022, Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al Jazeera journalist who was killed two days earlier in Jenin Refugee Camp, was laid to rest in East Jerusalem. During the funeral, Israel Police and Border Police officers beat the pallbearers and other attendees. Footage of this violence was shared around the world, drawing harsh reactions and strong criticism. Official Israel, however, remained unphased. According to media reports, an investigation ordered by the Israel Police commissioner was launched with a promise of no prosecutions and no disciplinary action against any of the persons involved. 

Since then, B’Tselem has documented three more funerals of Palestinians in which soldiers and police officers assaulted attendees, preventing them from bringing the deceased to burial on their own terms and holding a respectful burial ceremony: the funeral of Walid a-Sharif (23), held on 16 May 2022 in East Jerusalem; the funeral of Ghufran Warasnah (30), held on 1 June 2022 in al-‘Arrub R.C.; and the funeral of Nayfeh a-Tous, held on 1 July 2022 in Beit Ummar. Video footage and testimonies that participants gave B’Tselem field researchers indicate the forces attacked attendees with clubs, tear gas canisters, stun grenades and sponge rounds.

The Israeli violence during the four funerals is not an aberration, and B’Tselem has documented similar cases in the past. These incidents represent one aspect of the apartheid regime’s official policy toward grieving Palestinians. Another, for example, is holding on to the bodies of Palestinians with the Supreme Court’s approval. Currently, Israel is holding 103 bodies of Palestinians, including nine minors, and is preventing their families from parting with their loved ones and bringing them to burial. Another example is the standard practice of denying permits to enter Israel from individuals whose relatives have been killed by soldiers or police officers.

To justify this conduct, Israel says it holds Palestinian bodies as it needs them for bargaining chips in future negotiations, and that denying the permits is necessary due to fear of revenge. But these are no more than a feeble cover for a cruel policy of collective punishment, which causes immense harm to families that have just lost their loved ones. These claims reveal yet another aspect of the apartheid regime: defenseless in death as they are in life, Palestinians are not even guaranteed the right to mourn.

The funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh (51) in East Jerusalem, 13 May 2022:

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On Wednesday, 11 May 2022, Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh (51) was killed during an Israeli military incursion into Jenin Refugee Camp. Investigations by leading global media, as well as B’Tselem’s investigation, determined that all the findings indicate the gunfire that killed Abu Akleh was carried out by the Israeli military from about 200 meters away from her. Abu Akleh’s funeral was held two days later, on 13 May 2022.

The funeral procession set out from the Saint Louis French Hospital in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Video footage from the hospital reveals that Israeli security forces assaulted participants, including the pallbearers, with clubs, threw stun grenades at them and then stormed the hospital.

Video footage from inside the hospital shows some participants waving Palestinian flags, clapping and chanting slogans – moments before the forces storm in, push people in the crowd and beat them with clubs. Some people responded by throwing objects at the police officers, who continued beating attendees and throwing stun grenades at them. It was only after the officers tore a Palestinian flag off the vehicle transporting Abu Akleh’s coffin that they allowed the procession to carry on towards the Greek Catholic Church in Bab al-Khalil (Jaffa Gate) in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Israel Police and Border Police forces deployed along the route of the funeral procession (Road No. 1 and the alleyways of the Old City) tried to stop people from joining it and reaching the cemetery, and beat some of them with clubs, including after the burial ceremony was over. Many participants were detained and taken to the police station during the funeral and after it. Some were released with no further action, and others were charged with assaulting members of the security forces.

B’Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri collected testimonies from funeral attendees who were attacked by police officers:

Faten ‘Alwan (43) from Ramallah, a journalist and friend of Shireen Abu Akleh’s, spoke about the incidents near the hospital:

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On Friday, 13 May 2022, at around 10:30 A.M., I was at the French Hospital attending the funeral of my friend, the martyr Shireen. The young men hoisted the coffin on their shoulders in preparation to leave the hospital in a procession towards the church in the Old City, but the occupation forces stood blocking the hospital gate and said we had to transport her by car.

Shireen’s niece Larin (20) and I were standing close to the coffin. The officers, who were dressed in black uniforms, pushed us into the hospital to prevent the funeral procession from going out into the road. I saw Larin trying to protect the coffin and the pallbearers who were carrying it, as the occupation forces attacked them with clubs. Larin tried to push the officers and when one of them was about to hit her with a club, I went to stand between her and the officer to protect her, and the club hit me on the left leg, near the ankle.

The officers threw stun grenades into the hospital’s courtyard, and people fled. I ran with Larin behind the hospital, relatively far from where the officers were. After about 10 minutes, we went back to the hospital gate. It was quiet by then. We got into a car belonging to someone from the church. When we got to Bab al-Khalil, we saw a police checkpoint. The officers pushed us and tried to stop us from getting through, but we managed to get in anyway.

On the way to the church, police officers in black uniforms stopped us, but we told them we were relatives of the martyr and they let me, Larin and a few other people pass. I saw other people wanting to get through, but the officers pushed them and didn’t let them in. After the prayers were over, the funeral procession continued smoothly, but the officers still stopped a lot of people from attending.

Mahmoud Fatihah (28), a married father of a one-year-old from Jerusalem, spoke about his arrest at the end of the funeral:

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At around 3:30 P.M., Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral ended and people started leaving the cemetery. I decided to go home through Bab al-Khalil. On the way, I saw a procession of Jews who were waving flags and dancing on the road. I stood together with a few other people and watched what was happening. Then officers came and started hitting people, in order to get them to leave and allow the Jewish procession through. A Border Police officer pushed me several times. I shouted at him to stop pushing me, and then 10 Border Police officers attacked me, hit me and knocked me down. I managed to get up and tried to leave, but some officers started kicking and hitting me again, and I fell down again. I started vomiting. They kept beating me with clubs and kicking me. I felt that I was being picked up, and someone sprayed water on my face to try and get me to come to. My neck hurt badly.

The Border Police officers handcuffed me from behind and took me to the al-Kishleh police station. One of them held me by the neck, and the other held on to the handcuffs from behind. We walked a few hundred meters to the parking lot inside the police station. Some of the officers made me stand in front of the gate and then pushed my face into it, smashing it against the gate more than once. I was crying out in pain, and then they made me sit on my knees and pressed my head down to make me bend it. I vomited again, and they pulled me up by the handcuffs and dragged me away from there. I felt like my shoulders were ripping apart. Border Police officers made me sit between two vehicles and keep my head down, but I vomited again, and then they pulled me by the handcuffs again and dragged me somewhere else inside the lot.

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They made me sit on my knees and keep my head down there, too. They put an Israeli flag on my face for a few minutes. One of them told me in Hebrew, which I understand: That’s so you remember the importance of this flag. I asked for water more than once. It was only a few hours later that an officer in a blue uniform came and brought me a glass of water and helped me drink, because my hands were still tied behind me. I asked for the handcuffs to be loosened a little, but the Border Police officers just laughed and pressed on the handcuffs every time I yelled and asked to loosen them a little.

About four hours later, a lawyer came, and only then the officers loosened the handcuffs. The lawyer explained my rights during interrogation, which is where I was taken after the conversation. The interrogator accused me of assaulting a Border Police officer. I told him I was the one who was attacked and asked him to check the police and media cameras. The interrogation lasted 20 minutes. It was carried out in Arabic. The interrogator spoke to me calmly and didn’t use violence. My father posted bail and then I was released, at around 9:00 P.M. They forbade me from going to the Old City for a week.

My father took me to the French Hospital, where they found out I had fractures in my neck and said I had to go to al-Makassed Hospital to get an accurate x-ray. At al-Makassed, they diagnosed fractures in the fifth and seventh vertebrae in my neck and contusions on my back, arms and legs. I stayed in the hospital for three days. I’m still in pain and can’t go back to work. It’s a big problem, because I’m an engineer and I have obligations towards my clients.

 

The funeral of Walid a-Sharif (23) in East Jerusalem, 16 May 2022:

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On Friday, 22 April 2022, Walid a-Sharif (23), a resident of East Jerusalem, collapsed during clashes with police officers in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. He passed away on 14 May 2022, and his funeral was held two days later. It began with a prayer at al-Aqsa Mosque, with the funeral procession leaving the compound at around 9:00 P.M. As the first group, which led the procession, passed through Bab a-Zahreh (Herod’s Gate), it was confronted by police officers standing on the other side. The officers attacked the group with clubs after one of the participants waved a Palestinian flag.

The pallbearers and the other funeral attendees, who were walking behind this group, were unaware of what happened. They continued walking towards the cemetery and were attacked by the officers. In video footage, Border Police officers are seen attackng the crowd and beating people with clubs. The officers stopped some of the participants from continuing with the procession and blocked the street leading to the cemetery. Some young men lit firecrackers and threw stones at the officers, who attacked them with clubs, and threw tear gas canisters and stun grenades and fired sponge rounds at them.

The burial ceremony continued while the clashes were underway. At around 10:00 P.M., as it was coming to an end, the clashes spilled over into the cemetery, with police officers entering it and attacking the young men with whom they had clashed earlier by throwing stun grenades and tear gas canisters and firing sponge rounds. Some of the young men shot firecrackers in the air. The officers attacked the people attending the burial ceremony, as well. Video footage shows four participants standing near the grave, waving to the police officers who were about 30 meters away from them to signal the ceremony was over. At that point, the officers fired a sponge round at one of the four, Nader a-Sharif (47), hitting him in the eye. A-Sharif lost his eye due to the injury. Over the course of the funeral, at least 20 people were arrested. According to International Red Cross (ICRC) figures, at least 35 people were injured by sponge rounds and tear gas.

B’Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri collected testimonies from funeral attendees who were attacked by police officers:

Nael a-Sharif (41), a father of four from East Jerusalem, said in his testimony:

On the day of the martyr Walid a-Sharif’s funeral, my brother Nader (47), who speaks Hebrew, coordinated the arrangements with the police. We’re related to the martyr. The family had decided beforehand that no Palestinian flags would be waved and that there would be no confrontations with the occupation forces. They didn’t want a repeat of what happened at Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral.

The police handed the body over to the family near the police headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah at around 8:00 P.M. From there, it was taken for washing at al-Makassed Hospital and then for prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque. The occupation forces were deployed along the streets through which the body was transported. After the prayers, Walid’s body was taken through the Old City to Bab a-Zahreh, in order to go from there to the al-Mujahidin Cemetery on Salah a-Din Street. When we arrived in the area, the occupation forces were deployed around the exit from the Old City and the main post office, stopping people from coming through. Some other people and I organized ourselves to form a human barrier between the funeral participants and the security forces, in order to prevent a direct confrontation.

Suddenly, for some reason that isn’t clear to me, the occupation forces started attacking people taking part in the funeral procession. They beat them with clubs, kicked them and pushed them. The barrier we created dispersed, and I ran with the others towards the cemetery, where the burial ceremony was underway. When I got there, I saw that Nader, who has experience with burials, had already instructed the young guys on how to lay out the martyr Walid a-Sharif inside the grave.

While I was standing with the others during the ceremony, I heard stun grenades from Salah a-Din Street. The occupation forces were chasing people who were trying to get to the cemetery. I don’t know why they were trying to stop them from participating. There was a lot of noise and firecrackers were being fired all around, so I decided to leave the graveside to see what was going on. I went to the cemetery gates. Nader and my son Muhammad (17) stayed with the others by the grave.

I didn’t manage to see anything. I only heard the explosions of sponge rounds and stun grenades. I saw Muhammad running towards me, crying and shouting. He told me Nader had been hit in the eye. I saw the paramedics carrying Nader, who was bleeding from the left eye, the mouth and the nose. They laid him down on the ground near the police barricade. I rode in the ambulance with Nader. The police stopped the ambulance three times before we reached the end of Salah a-Din Street, and instead of one minute, it took us 10 minutes to get to the hospital. The first time we were stopped, they got into the ambulance and took a picture of Nader. There were four other wounded people in the ambulance whom I didn’t know.

‘Abd a-Rahman a-Sharif (45), the deceased’s brother, a father of four and a guard at al-Aqsa Mosque, said:

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There were negotiations with the authorities over the terms for handing over the body. We refused to accept their terms regarding receiving the body at midnight and limiting the number of attendees. In the end, we received the body at 7:30 P.M. on 16 May 2022, at the police station in Sheikh Jarrah. The only condition they stipulated was that we not wave Palestinian flags. No limit was placed on the number of attendees. The police demanded I post a video on social media explaining what had been agreed with them. I asked the officers not to go near the funeral procession route in order to avoid confrontations. I posted the video as they asked.

Walid’s body was washed at al-Makassed Hospital and taken in an ambulance for prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque. At the end of the prayers, Walid’s body was carried on foot, as is the custom. We left through King Faisal Gate, which is one of the al-Aqsa Mosque gates, going towards Bab a-Zahreh, which is close to the al-Mujahidin Cemetery. I was surprised to see a large number of Special Police Unit forces deployed there. They had put up barricades around the place. Together with young men from the family, we formed a human barrier to prevent confrontations between the participants and the forces. I don’t know why, but the officers attacked the funeral participants with clubs. People dispersed and ran away from there. I carried on towards the cemetery with a group of people. We arrived there within 10 minutes.

 

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During the burial ceremony, I heard firecrackers, stun grenades and sponge rounds being fired. I think it was happening outside the cemetery. My relative Nader a-Sharif (47) was overseeing the burial ceremony. As soon as it was over and the grave was sealed, I saw the Special Police Unit forces had come into the cemetery and were firing tear gas canisters. I ran away, and then I got hit by four sponge rounds in the back, near my spine. I fell over. I felt like I was choking from the tear gas. I have heart disease. I had a heart catheterization done about six months ago, and I feared for my life. After about 10 minutes, people took me to the cemetery gate. They told me Nader had been hit in the eye by a bullet. I didn’t see him getting hit, but I was told it was a serious injury and that he’d been taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I was given first aid on site.

The funeral of Ghufran Warasnah (30) from al-‘Arrub R.C., 1 June 2022:

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On Wednesday, 1 June 2022, at around 7:30 A.M., a soldier standing at the checkpoint at the entrance to al-‘Arrub R.C. shot Ghufran Warasnah (30), a resident of Shuyukh al-’Arrub, claiming she had approached the checkpoint with a knife. Warasnah was injured and was pronounced dead at the hospital. At around 11:00 A.M., her relatives returned to the refugee camp with the body, to have relatives say goodbye and bury her.

Soldiers and Border Police officers who were standing at the entrance to the camp refused to allow the family to bring the body inside and told them to bury it “somewhere else.” When members of the family tried to enter the camp with the body nevertheless, the forces attacked them, beating the people carrying the stretcher with clubs and throwing stun grenades at residents, among other things. Within several minutes, local residents managed to bring Warasnah’s body into the camp, where she was taken to her parents’ home. After they said their goodbyes, she was buried at the cemetery in the camp.

Ahmad Warasnah (32), Ghufran brother, described how he was attacked by soldiers and police officers in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari:

On Wednesday, 1 June 2022, at around 7:30 A.M., I was woken by a phone call. A camp resident told me that occupation soldiers had shot my sister Ghufran at the entrance to the camp. It was Ghufran’s first day of work in Hebron. She got a degree in journalism and communications from the University of Hebron in 2014.

Right away, I got into a taxi that stopped around 100 meters from the checkpoint. Our neighbor ran over to me, crying and saying: The army shot your sister. I ran over there and saw a few young men taking Ghufran to an ambulance. They gave her first aid. Her blood covered the ambulance seats. I saw her bleeding from under her armpits, both left and right. I got into the ambulance with her, and we drove to al-Ahali Hospital in Hebron, where she was taken into surgery right away. We were taken out of the room and about 15 minutes later, a doctor came out and told us my sister had died.

At around 11:00 A.M., some relatives and I took Ghufran’s body from the hospital and brought her to the camp. We got to the entrance to al-‘Arrub at around 11:30. The entrance was closed, and there were a lot of soldiers and Border Police officers there. We asked them to open the gate so the ambulance carrying the body could enter, but they refused and stood in front of us like a wall. Some of the older people asked an officer to let us bring Ghufran in, but he also refused and told us we had to bury her somewhere else.

I was very angry. I got a few young men together. We lifted the stretcher with Ghufran’s body up on our shoulders and walked towards the entrance to the camp. The soldiers and police officers beat us and threw stun grenades. I was scared we’d drop the stretcher. I was hit by shrapnel from a stun grenade that exploded under my feet.

We kept going and insisted on bringing Ghufran into the camp. We managed to get through the checkpoint, despite the soldiers’ and officers’ aggression. There were about 25 of us, some carrying the stretcher and the others protecting it. There was an ambulance waiting for us on the other side of the checkpoint. It took my sister’s body home, where we said goodbye and then we buried her.

The funeral of Nayfeh a-Tous (70) from Beit Ummar, 1 July 2022:

On Friday, 1 July 2022, Nayfeh a-Tous (70), the sister of prisoner Muhammad a-Tous, passed away. At around 1:00 P.M., after prayers, town residents set out in a funeral procession towards the Beit Ummar cemetery. On their way there, near the exit from the town, when the participants passed by a military checkpoint and watchtower, the soldiers tried to stop the funeral. They ordered the participants to take an alternate route, which included walking uphill rather than along the flat highway (Route 60). Dozens of the participants refused and the soldiers attacked them, pushed them, pointed weapons at them, fired in the air, hurled stun grenades and tried to knock the body to the ground.

 

An anonymous participant described the violence he and other participants experienced at Nayfeh a-Tous' funeral in a testimony he gave B'Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja'bari on 3 July 2022:

On Friday, 1 July 2022, after the funeral prayers at the big mosque in the center of the village of Beit Ummar, we went to the funeral of my relative Nayfeh a-Tous. The funeral procession set out at around 1:00 P.M. towards the Beit Ummar cemetery, where she was going to be buried. When we reached the military watchtower at the entrance to Beit Ummar, about 15 Israeli soldiers ordered us to turn around and take a different route to the cemetery, which has a steep incline. The body was heavy and it was difficult to carry it up the road. It was much more convenient to walk along the main road.

There were about 200 people attending the funeral, in two groups. The older people took the road leading up to the cemetery. The rest, about 50 young guys, carried the stretcher and insisted on taking the main road, which is a flat, shorter route near the gas station. The guys marched with about eight of them carrying the coffin, and the others trying to keep the soldiers away from the road. Some of them tried to convince them that the coffin was heavy and too difficult to carry uphill. The soldiers refused to listen and started attacking the funeral participants, kicking and shoving them, and tried to knock the coffin out of the young guys’ hands. They fired shots in the air, as well as sponge rounds, and threw stun grenades. Several people were injured by the sponge rounds. The soldiers' violence continued for about 20 minutes. Despite their aggression, we managed to bury Nayfeh a-Tous' body at the cemetery, which was surrounded by dozens of soldiers.