Israeli police investigate officers' use of force at a veteran journalist's funeral

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s police chief has ordered an investigation into officers’ use of force toward Palestinians who were gathering at the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Officers had charged at pallbearers, beating them with batons and causing the casket to nearly drop to the ground on Friday. Police have said they were trying to prevent crowds from carrying the coffin and had arranged with Abu Akleh’s family to deliver it to the cemetery in a hearse.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as the United Nations secretary-general and the European Union condemned Israeli police conduct in Jerusalem over the funeral for Abu Akleh.

In a statement, police said “hundreds of rioters tried to sabotage” the funeral ceremony and harm officers, but that the police commissioner has ordered an investigation and findings will be presented in the coming days.

Abu Akleh was killed this week while covering an Israeli arrest raid in a Palestinian refugee camp. There’s a dispute over whether Israeli soldiers or Palestinian gunmen shot her.