Israeli police attacked a gathering of mourners at the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on Friday. Police used batons to beat demonstrators. And forced pallbearers to drop the casket for a brief moment. Mourners gathered outside a hospital in East Jerusalem to take the coffin of Shireen Abu. When the incident occurred. As Ms. Abu was a Christian, her coffin was to be taken at the nearby church.
The crackdown occurred during a rare display of Palestinian nationalism in East Jerusalem. Which Israel seized in 1967. And which the Palestinians claim as their capital. Israel claims east Jerusalem as part of its capital and has annexed the territory. Which is not recognized internationally. Any expressions of support for Palestinian statehood are routinely suppressed by Israel.
Journalist killed by Israeli forces
According to witnesses and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israeli troops shot. Lest, killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank. Also, on Wednesday, Abu Akleh, a longstanding Al Jazeera Arabic TV correspondent was assassinated while documenting Israeli army incursions in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
Israel has demanded that the Palestinian Authority cooperate with the investigation and hand over the bullet for forensic processing to ascertain who fired the fatal round. However, the Palestinian Authority has rejected, claiming that it will conduct its own investigation. As well as report its findings to the International Criminal Court, which is currently examining suspected Israeli war crimes.
Rights groups claim that Israel rarely follows through on investigations into the deaths of Palestinians by its security forces, and that when it does, the sanctions are mild. This case, on the other hand, is attracting a lot of attention. Since Abu Akleh was a well-known individual who also happened to be an American citizen.