Israeli police violence mars Abu Akleh’s funeral
Officers charge at mourners carrying coffin, kicking and beating pallbearers with batons
Shocking scenes of Israeli police violence marred a funeral procession on Friday for Shireen Abu Akleh, the US-Palestinian journalist shot dead by Israeli soldiers this week in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli police officers charged at mourners carrying Abu Akleh’s coffin through Jerusalem’s Old City toward the gates of St. Joseph’s Hospital. Police burst through the courtyard gates and charged at the crowd, kicking and beating pallbearers with batons.
At one point the group carrying the coffin almost dropped it as they forced back against a wall, recovering just in time as stun grenades detonated around them. Police fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at the mourners in an attempt to stop them raising Palestinian flags.
Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said the scenes were “very shocking” and the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said she was “deeply distressed by the images.” The EU said it was apwere palling, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: “We have all seen those images, they’re obviously deeply disturbing.”
Palestinian political analyst Ghassan Al-Khatib told Arab News that Abu Akleh’s funeral had shown the world the daily suffering of Palestinians at the hands of occupation forces. “Even a deceased Christian civilian who held American citizenship was not spared,” he said.
Prominent Palestinian journalist Mohammed Daraghmeh, Abu Akleh’s close friend, said the funeral had restored Jerusalem’s Palestinian identity. “It is forbidden to raise Palestinian flags in Jerusalem, but the flags were raised. Christian churches rang bells, and mosques performed prayers for her, even though she was Christian.”
Abu Akleh’s killing denounced