The Israeli occupation forces arrested the Palestinian Omar Abu Khdeir, who was a protector of the coffin of the Al-Jazeera correspondent, Shireen Abu Akleh, during the occupation police’s assault on the funeral in front of the French Hospital in occupied Jerusalem.
This came during a campaign of arrests launched by the occupation forces on Monday in the city of Jerusalem, especially in and around Beit Hanina, following the funeral of the martyr Walid al-Sharif.
The Israeli forces raided the house of Omar Abu Khdeir in the town of Shuafat, north of Jerusalem on Monday, and arrested him and took him to the interrogation rooms in the notorious Al-Maskobiya prison.
As per the media reports, Khaldoun Najm, Abu Khdeir’s lawyer, said that his client was arrested on Monday without disclosing the charges against him and based on information from the Israeli internal security services.
Meanwhile, a police official said any connection to the funeral would be considered a “cheap plot”. Abu Khdeir’s detention was extended until Sunday, according to police and Najm.
Last Friday, May 13, thousands of Palestinians participated in the funeral of Abu Akleh, who was shot dead by the occupation, while she was preparing to cover the Israeli forces’ storming of Jenin camp last Wednesday, May 11, even though she was wearing a bullet-proof vest with the press logo and a protective helmet.
When the coffin was taken out of the French Hospital in East Jerusalem, the occupation police stormed the hospital yard and tried to disperse a crowd whose participants were chanting and waving Palestinian flags.
The coffin nearly fell to the ground when the police beat its carriers with batons, before being straightened and lifted at the last moment.
The intervention of the Israeli forces resulted in the injury of 33 people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli police stated that they arrested 6 people.
The scene of the attack on the funeral sparked great anger in the popular and international circles. The United States expressed “deep annoyance at the scenes of the Israeli police attacking the funeral procession,” and international and public statements called for an investigation.
