Israeli forces on Friday beat up mourners who were carrying the casket of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in Jerusalem, Al Jazeera reported.

Akleh, a journalist with Al Jazeera, was allegedly shot dead in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in the State of Palestine on Wednesday. While the news organisation alleged that the Israeli forces deliberately shot Akleh, Tel Aviv has denied the claims.

The Israeli military captured the West Bank in 1967 during the Mideast war. The Palestinians want it back to form their future state.

On Friday, footage by Al Jazeera showed security forces charging at the mourners and pushing them back. At one point, the casket nearly fell onto the ground.

The incident reportedly took place near the city’s St Louis French Hospital.

Akleh’s body was taken to the Mount Zion Protestant Cemetery in Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine. She will be buried there next to her parents.

Commenting on the footage, the Israeli police alleged that Palestinian rioters had been hurling stones in the premises of the hospital. “The policemen were forced to act,” the authorities claimed.

Palestinian authorities have not yet commented on the matter.

Akleh was allegedly shot in the head when she was covering an Israeli raid in Jenin on Wednesday.

Shatha Hanaysha, another reporter from Al Jazeera travelling with Akleh, said that shots were fired without confrontations.

On Friday, Israel’s military said an initial investigation concluded that it was not possible to ascertain the source of the gunfire that killed Akleh, according to Reuters. One possibility is that the bullet that hit the journalist could have been fired by the Palestinian militants, the Israeli military said.

The other possibility is that an Israeli soldier returning fire from a jeep may have unintentionally hit her, the military said. The vehicle was said to have been about 200 metres away from Akleh.