Israeli police used tear gas and attempted to arrest mourners during the burial of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed while documenting a raid in Jerusalem.
Ms Abu Akleh, 51, was wearing a press vest when she was shot in the head while reporting on an Israeli operation in Jenin on Wednesday.
Tear gas was shot outside the hospital in east Jerusalem where her corpse was being housed, and a shrine was demolished.
After an hour, Israeli authorities detained people chanting outside the Catholic church in Jerusalem's old city.
Thousands of people gathered on Thursday for a memorial ceremony as her body was carried through the streets With the bulletproof vest on top of the coffin.
Israeli police even attacked the pallbearers at one point, forcing the coffin to slip and nearly collapse to the ground.
Images of Israeli police officers storming at mourners carrying Ms Abu Akleh's coffin were deemed upsetting by the White House.
In the aftermath of the burial, US officials, according to press secretary Jen Psaki, would maintain in touch with Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
The IDF announced early results from their investigation into the incident just before the burial began.
According to the article, it is still unclear who fired the bullet that killed the journalist, although it might have been an IDF soldier.
The results will mean little to the hundreds who have assembled in Jerusalem to mourn her - she was killed, and Palestinians have lost a voice that has spent decades reporting on happenings in the West Bank.
The situation is still quite tight.
There were no fights or militants in the nearby vicinity when Ms Abu Akleh was slain early Wednesday, according to reporters who were with her, including one who was shot and wounded.
They were all wearing safety gear that plainly identified them as reporters.
Israel has demanded a joint inquiry with the Palestinian Authority (PA) as well as the bullet for forensic examination to ascertain who fired the deadly gunshot.
The Palestinian Authority has rejected, stating that it would conduct its own inquiry and forward the findings to the International Criminal Court, which is already looking into suspected Israeli war crimes.
Ms Abu Akleh was a Palestinian-American journalist who spent more than 25 years covering the Middle East conflict.
She joined Al Jazeera's Arabic-language programme in 1997 and gained to popularity in the early 2000s by covering the second Palestinian intifada, or revolt against Israeli control.
In recent days, there has been an outpouring of mourning from Palestinian areas and the Arab world as a whole.
Al Jazeera's managing director, Ahmad Alyafei, has already stated that he would fly to Jerusalem to attend the burial.
In the United Kingdom, the shadow foreign secretary and the Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokeswoman both stated that the culprits must be held responsible for the assassination.
The opposition foreign secretary, David Lammy, tweeted, "There must be responsibility for Shireen Abu Akleh's killing."
"These sights of mourners being pummelling are unacceptable, and only serve to heighten calls for justice and add to her family's anguish."
"Shireen was adored across the whole Arab world, regardless of whose group," tweeted Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP of Palestinian heritage. They should be let to weep.
"The Israeli soldiers invading the burial in this manner is utterly reprehensible, and I fully expect [Foreign Secretary] Liz Truss to condemn it." But I know I'm not going to receive it."
She urged the UK government to "ensure a comprehensive, impartial inquiry is conducted."
Posts
0 Comments