Israeli police officers on Friday allegedly mishandled Palestinian mourners carrying the coffin of the slain Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as thousands led her casket through Jerusalem’s Old City in an outpouring of grief and anger over her killing, reported Reuters.
The veteran Palestinian-American was brutally shot dead on Wednesday while covering an Israeli military raid in the Jenin refugee camp.
Packed around Abu Akleh’s coffin, dozens of Palestinians, some 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 from 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, reported the Times of India quoting Reuters.
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.
According to some reports, the Israeli police snatched Abu Akleh’s coffin from the mourners and forced the mourners to place it 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.
Crowds of Palestinians lined the narrow alleyways of the Old City as the coffin was carried to the Mount Zion Cemetery nearby.
How was Abu Akleh killed?
Abu Akleh, 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.
Palestinian authorities have described Abu Akleh’s killing as an assassination by Israeli forces.
Israeli authorities initially suggested Palestinian fire might have been to blame, but later admitted that it was Israeli gunfire that killed her.
Israel, which has voiced regret at Abu Akleh’s death, has proposed a joint investigation with the Palestinians, asking them to provide the bullet for examination.
The Palestinians have, however, rejected the Israeli request and have called for an international investigation.
International Condemnation
The White House found the images disturbing, press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, and U.S. officials will remain in close contact with Israeli and Palestinian authorities in the aftermath of Akleh’s funeral.
“Every family deserves to be able to lay their loved ones to rest in a dignified and unimpeded manner,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Egypt, Qatar, and Al Jazeera condemned the police’s conduct.
Deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said the scenes were “very shocking” and the EU said it was appalling.
Her grave was covered in wreaths and the Palestinian flag draped over the grave cross as mourners surrounded it solemnly, paying tribute to Abu Akleh.
“We are here because we are screaming for justice. Justice for Shireen Abu Akleh and justice for Palestine,” said one mourner, who did not want to be identified by name.
The Palestinian Attorney General’s office issued a statement on Friday in which it said initial investigations have found that the sole source of gunfire in the area where Abu Akleh was hurt was Israeli.
UN Security Council Statement
In a statement, agreed by consensus on Friday, the 15-member U.N. Security Council strongly condemned the killing and called for an “immediate, thorough, transparent, and fair and impartial investigation.”
Israeli forces on Friday resumed raids on the outskirts of Jenin, where Abu Akleh was killed, and the Palestinian Health Ministry said 13 Palestinians had been wounded.
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said events in Jerusalem and Jenin could push the sides into serious escalation.
Abu Akleh’s death has drawn widespread condemnation. Video footage from the moments after she was shot showed Abu Akleh, 51, 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.
Condemnation by Catholic Church
The top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land on Monday condemned the police beat ing of mourners carrying the casket of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, accusing the authorities of violating human rights and disrespecting the Catholic Church.
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters at St. Joseph Hospital in Jerusalem that Friday’s incident, broadcast around the world, “is a severe violation of international norms and regulations, including the fundamental human right of freedom of religion, which must be observed also in a public space.”
He spoke as the leaders and clergy of other Christian churches sat nearby.