Widespread outcry from the international community poured as Israeli police officers attacked Palestinian mourners who were carrying the coffin of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on Friday, finally pushing Israeli police to state on Saturday that they had decided to investigate the conduct of their officers who violently assaulted the funeral of the slain Al-Jazeera journalist in East Jerusalem's Old City.
Police forces beat pallbearers with batons at the start of the funeral procession on Friday of Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli troops Wednesday during a raid in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military claims it’s not clear to them who fired the fatal bullet and that Palestinian gunmen were in the area. However, Palestine's public prosecutor says she was killed deliberately by Israeli fire.
The shocking scenes at the funeral, and the death of the 51-year-old Palestinian American journalist, drew worldwide condemnation and calls for investigations, including from the United States and the United Nations.
The Israeli police defended their actions by claiming they used force as hundreds of "rioters tried to sabotage the ceremony and harm the police."
The attack on the funeral added to a sense of grief and outrage that has followed the death of Abu Akleh, a veteran journalist and a household name across the Arab world.
Ahead of the burial, a large crowd gathered to escort her casket from an East Jerusalem hospital to a Catholic church in the nearby Old City. Many of the mourners held Palestinian flags, chanting, "We sacrifice our soul and blood for you, Shireen."
Shortly after, Israel police attacked, pushing and clubbing mourners. As helmeted riot police approached, they hit pallbearers, causing one man to lose control of the casket as it dropped toward the ground. Police ripped Palestinian flags out of people’s hands and fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. administration was "troubled by the images of Israeli police intruding into the funeral procession" of Abu Akleh, who was also an American citizen. "Every family deserves to lay their loved ones to rest in a dignified and unimpeded manner," he tweeted.
A unanimous condemnation came Friday from the 15-member U.N. Security Council, which called in a rare statement for "an immediate, thorough, transparent and impartial investigation into her killing."
Late Friday, the Palestinian public prosecutor said preliminary findings show Abu Akleh was killed by deliberate fire from Israeli troops. The prosecutor said the investigation would continue. Israel's military claimed earlier Friday that she was killed during an exchange of fire with Palestinian militants, and that it couldn't determine the source of the shot that killed her.
Israel has called for a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and urged it to hand over the bullet for forensic analysis to determine who fired the fatal round. The PA has refused, saying it will conduct its own investigation and send the results to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is already investigating possible Israeli war crimes.
The PA and Al-Jazeera, have accused Israel of deliberately killing Abu Akleh, which Israel denies.
Abu Akleh was a member of the small Palestinian Christian community in the Holy Land. Palestinian Christians and Muslims marched alongside one another Friday in a show of unity.
She was shot in the head Wednesday morning during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin.