Attack on mourners condemned
THE Palestinian Authority said it would welcome international support in the inquiry into the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, while Israel said it would investigate an eruption of violence at her funeral on Friday.
The death of the veteran reporter while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank last week sparked international condemnation as Israeli police charged at mourners during the funeral procession.
The incident happened as Palestinians carrying the coffin of Abu Akleh led a crowd mourners in an outpouring of grief and anger over her killing. Packed around Abu Akleh’s coffin, mourners waving Palestinian flags and chanting, “with our soul and blood we will redeem you, Shireen,” began walking toward the gates of St Joseph’s Hospital.
Israeli police officers, in an apparent bid to stop them proceeding by foot rather than taking the coffin by car, burst through the courtyard gates and charged at the crowd, some beating pallbearers with batons and kicking them.
At one point the group carrying her coffin backed against a wall and almost dropped the casket, recovering it just before one end hit the ground as stun grenades detonated.
The violent scenes added to Palestinian outrage over Abu Akleh’s killing, which has threatened to fuel violence that has surged since March.
Israel’s police said on Saturday it had tried “to facilitate a calm and dignified funeral and had coordinated the funeral arrangements with her family. Unfortunately, hundredsof rioters tried to sabotage the ceremony and harm the police”.
“The policemen were forced to act,” it added.
Findings from its investigation will be presented in coming days, it added.
A few minutes after police intervened, Abu Akleh’s coffin was placed in a vehicle that headed toward the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Virgin in Jerusalem’s Walled Old City, where the funeral ceremony proceeded peacefully. Her grave was covered in wreaths and the Palestinian flag was draped over the grave cross as mourners surrounded it solemnly, paying tribute to Abu Akleh.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the US was “deeply troubled” to see the Israeli police’s actions during the funeral, Sputnik reported.
“Every family deserves to be able to lay their loved ones to rest in a dignified and unimpeded manner,” Blinken said.
Egypt, Qatar and Al Jazeera condemned the police’s conduct. Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said the scenes were “very shocking” and the EU said it was appalled.
Abu Akleh, 51, who had covered Palestinian affairs and the Middle East for more than two decades, was shot while reporting on an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.
Video footage from the moments after she was shot showed her wearing a blue vest marked “Press”.
At least two of her colleagues who were with her said that they had come under Israeli sniper fire and that they were not close to militants.
Palestinian authorities have described her death as an assassination by Israeli forces. Israel initially suggested Palestinian fire might have been to blame, but officials have since said they could not rule out it was Israeli gunfire that killed her.
The UN Security Council has condemned the killing and called for an “immediate, thorough, transparent, and fair and impartial investigation”.
Hussein al Sheikh, a senior Palestinian Authority official, said on Twitter the authority would welcome the participation of all international bodies in its inquiry.
The Palestinian Authority has rejected an offer from Israel, which has voiced regret over Abu Akleh’s death, to co-operate in the investigation. |