Kcriticism came on Friday from the United Nations, the USA and the European Union, among others. “We just saw the video of it and it’s just very shocking for us,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York.
Images circulating on the internet and broadcast by TV stations appeared to show Israeli security forces beating people carrying coffins, among other things. The police, on the other hand, spoke of hundreds of violent demonstrators who, among other things, caused unrest by throwing stones.
The Shirin Abu Akle from the TV station Al-Jazeera, who was shot dead in the West Bank on Wednesday, was buried on Friday in a Christian-Orthodox cemetery next to the old city of Jerusalem. Al-Jazeera has accused Israeli security forces of deliberately killing the 51-year-old. Thousands of people came to the funeral. During the procession the confrontations erupted.
“Disrespectful Behavior”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also expressed shock at the violence on the day of her funeral. The European Union was appalled by the scenes that took place on Friday during the funeral procession, he said. “The EU condemns the disproportionate use of force and the disrespectful behavior of the Israeli police towards the participants in the funeral procession.”
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called it “disturbing images.” She said, “We regret intruding on a procession that should have been peaceful.” Psaki dodged the question of whether she condemned the Israeli security forces. She stressed that the US is ready to assist investigations into the incident. The situation has been tense since the journalist was killed on Wednesday.
“Crime of Execution”
According to the Israeli army, there was a fierce firefight with dozens of militant Palestinians during a raid on Wednesday. On Friday, the armed forces published interim results of their investigation, according to which it is currently not possible to say “conclusively” where the fatal shot came from. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on the other hand, blames Israel and spoke of a “crime of execution”. The Palestinians had rejected a joint investigation proposed by Israel.
Now the Palestinian Attorney General’s Office said on Friday that only Israeli troops fired at the moment the journalist was hit. The Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted the investigators as saying that this was the result of investigations at the crime scene, the questioning of witnesses and the evaluation of videos. The Israeli troops were only about 150 meters from Abu Akle.
demand for clarification
The UN said on Friday that it was gathering more information about the clashes at the funeral procession: “Of course, as in all cases, we want to ensure that the fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and, of course, the right to peaceful demonstrations are protected and upheld,” Haq said . The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, was “deeply shocked by the pictures,” as she wrote on Twitter. “The tragedy of her murder should be treated with the utmost respect, sobriety and care.” Like the UN, the US had called for an investigation into the killing.
According to Palestinian sources, Israeli security forces used stun grenades during the procession. Mounted and mounted police officers attacked the mourners.
Meanwhile, an Israeli border police officer was fatally injured in confrontations with armed Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Israeli sources. During an anti-terrorist operation near Jenin, armed attackers fired on the security forces and threw explosives, the police and army said. The soldiers fired back. The 47-year-old officer was injured when leaving Burkin and taken to the hospital.
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