The U.S. and EU led an international outcry Saturday after Israeli police charged the funeral procession in Jerusalem of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and beat pallbearers who almost dropped her coffin.
Thousands of people packed Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday for the burial of the veteran Al Jazeera journalist, two days after she was killed in an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank.
Television footage showed the pallbearers struggling to stop Abu Akleh’s coffin from falling to the ground as baton-wielding police officers charged towards them, grabbing Palestinian flags from mourners.
The United States said it was “deeply troubled” by the scenes, while the European Union said it was “appalled” by the “unnecessary force.”
The Jerusalem Red Crescent said 33 people were injured, of whom six were hospitalized. Israeli authorities said six arrests were made after mourners had thrown “rocks and glass bottles.”
Israel and the Palestinians traded blame for the death of Abu Akleh on Wednesday who was shot in the head during the Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp.
Continue reading at VOA
