Israeli police arrests 50 after brutal attack on second slain Palestinian's funeral in Jerusalem

Israeli police arrested over 50 Palestinians in Jerusalem in the past 48 hours, the Jerusalem Detainees Families’ Committee’s spokesperson, Amjad Abu Assab, told The New Arab.

The arrests happened in the aftermath of the funeral of 23-year-old Palestinian Waleed Al-Sharif, late on Monday, after Israeli police stormed the funeral with dozens of police personnel at the Sahira Gate cemetery.

Confrontations erupted between mourners and Israeli police, who threw stun grenades, tear gas and fired rubber-coated bullets. Some 16 Palestinians were injured according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Six Israeli policemen were injured after Palestinian mourners threw stones and fire works at them, according to Israeli media.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured Monday as Israeli forces attacked a funeral procession of a Palestinian man killed by Israeli soldiers. Waleed al-Sharif is among 54 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of the year. https://t.co/bwvLfKr90J pic.twitter.com/SGPK7jSuEp

— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) May 17, 2022

Waleed Al-Sharif died on Saturday of wounds caused by the Israeli police three weeks earlier during raids on Al-Aqsa compound.

“Israeli police conducted random arrests following the confrontations,” said Abu Assab. “Later, Israeli police teams returned to the site of the events and took finger prints from stones and other objects that were thrown during the confrontations, and more arrests followed,” he added.

“Approximately half of the Palestinians arrested were released, while the rest were taken to detention centres,” Abu Asab pointed out, stressing that “nine of the Palestinians who were arrested during the storming of Al-Aqsa compound during Ramadan are still detained”.

Israeli occupation forces suppressed a Palestinian young man with wastewater directly in the face during the suppression of the funeral of the Palestinian martyr, Waleed Al-Sharif. #FreePalestine #IsraeliTerrorism pic.twitter.com/rjbnWsV7M5

— Palestinian Eve Network+🇵🇸 (@PalEvePlus) May 18, 2022

On Tuesday, Israeli police arrested Omar Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian in his twenties from Shuufat, north of Jerusalem, who took part in the funeral of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, on Friday.

Israeli police had cracked down on Abu Akleh’s funeral, where video footage showed Abu Khdeir raising Abu Akleh’s casket before hitting the ground, while receiving baton blows by Israeli policemen who attacked mourners at the entrance of the French Hospital in Jerusalem.

The Saint Joseph Hospital’s administration announced that it will sue the Israeli police for attacking the funeral at its premises.

“We are considering the legal options to sue the Israeli police with our legal advisors and with the Catholic Church, who is the legal protector of the hospital”, Jamil Kusa, the hospital’s director, told The New Arab.

تقاومين حتى آخر لحظة يا شيرين..لم يسقط التابوت pic.twitter.com/KvQeqI3CTv

— الحـكـيم 𓂆 🇵🇸 ✌️ ⏃ (@Hakeam_shateila) May 13, 2022

“Israeli police attacked the funeral and the hospital without any excuse, despite the fact that there was no violence from mourners or any of the hospital’s staff,” said Kusa, adding that “some of the hospital’s staff were lightly injured as a result of the Israeli police aggression”.

Israeli police have escalated arrests of Palestinians in Jerusalem since the beginning of April, coinciding with the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

During Ramadan raids on Al-Aqsa compound, Israeli police arrested 781 Palestinians, including 425 on a single day, according to a statement released by the Israeli Knesset, following a meeting of the Knesset’s interior security committee earlier in May.