The news that Shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known female journalist of Qatar's Al Jazeera, was shot and killed in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the 11th shocked the international community, and an even more shocking scene occurred at her funeral a few days later.
According to Al Jazeera local time reported on the 13th, the Palestinian people escorting the coffin were surrounded by Israeli police using batons and popcorns, resulting in the coffin falling in the conflict. The media outlet denounced the Actions of the Israeli police as "a violation of all international norms and rights."]
According to the latest news from the Times of Israel, the Israeli police claimed in a statement that because "the rioters took the coffin despite the wishes of the deceased's family and caused a disturbance in the farewell procession", the police had to take compulsory measures to make the funeral go smoothly, and finally arrested 6 people.
The two sides were once again at a stalemate, but the moment Aklih's coffin fell stung the hearts of everyone, especially some of her media peers. His former colleague scolded in the social media: "Even when he died, Al-Aklih was attacked by the Israeli police, which is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen in my life!" ”
Al Jazeera: Palestinians say goodbye to journalists killed
Shireen Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist, was born in Jerusalem in 1971. She worked as a journalist for Al Jazeera's Arabic channel for 25 years and is therefore a household name throughout the Middle East.
On the 11th, When Reporting an attack by the Israeli army on a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, Aklih was shot in the head and died. Three witnesses identified the Israeli army as the perpetrator, but the Israeli side claimed that it was "most likely" a Palestinian shot, and the incident is currently in the investigation stage.
According to Al Jazeera local time reported on the 13th, Aklih's body was transported back to her hometown of Jerusalem, and will be buried with his parents after the funeral on Friday.
Thousands of mourners traveled to Jerusalem to bid farewell to the great frontline journalist that day, and also staged memorial rallies by posting Al-Aklih posters and Palestinian flags in churches and other places. U.S. media VOX said it may be the largest public mourning since the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004.
Al Jazeera said Aklih's killing had stoked Palestinian outrage and tensions in Jerusalem were likely to intensify. The funeral of the day did indeed develop into an unexpected situation.
As Mr. Aklih's body was transferred from hospital to a church for a funeral, Israeli police clashed fiercely with mourners waving Palestinian flags and shouting protest slogans, using batons and popcorns to surround Palestinians carrying coffins and causing coffins to fall to the ground for a time during the clashes.
The media denounced the Actions of the Israeli police as "violating all international norms and rights" and stressed that the Israeli side had long been targeted.
Israeli police raided Mr. Al-Aklih's home on Thursday, forcibly removing the Palestinian flag from his residence, he said. Aklih's brother was also summoned that night, and Israeli police warned him that if the situation at the scene "escalated", they would disperse the funeral crowd.
Al Jazeera reporter Stefanie Dekker also issued a live report, saying that when Al-Khalih's family received mourning at the church, the Israeli police removed all the Palestinian flags outside the church and arbitrarily pushed the mourners, causing a wave of discontent at the scene.
The moment Aklih's coffin fell stung the hearts of everyone, especially some of her media colleagues, BBC reporters described the scene as "unbearable", and the hosts who took up positions on Al Jazeera, France 24 and other media also revealed on social media that Israeli police smashed the windows of the hearse in order to take away the Palestinian flag.
Aklih's former colleague scolded on social media: "Even when he died, Al-Aklih was attacked by the Israeli police, one of the most incredible things I have ever seen in my life!" Why? Because the coffin is covered with a Palestinian flag. ”
The live video went viral on social media platforms, sparking widespread condemnation of Israel. It is also rare for the United States to protest against Israel, an ally. According to the US media Axios, the Biden administration is "angry and disappointed" by the incident.
On the 13th, then-White House spokesman Psaki expressed concern about the images of Israeli police driving away the participants in the funeral of the murdered female journalist on the Internet, "At this sensitive moment, we urge people to respect the funeral procession, mourners and families." Asked if she condemned the Actions of the Israeli side, she replied: "I think that when we say they are 'disturbing', we are clearly not defending them." ”
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken later tweeted, "We are deeply disturbed to see Israeli police break into her funeral procession." Every family should be able to rest their loved ones in a dignified, unhindered way. ”
The European Union also said in a statement that it was "shocked" by the "unnecessary use of force" by Israeli police at the funeral, saying that "allowing mourners to mourn calmly without harassment and humiliation is the minimum respect for people." ”
The Israeli police, who became the target of public criticism, responded to the matter on the official social media account on the 14th local time, saying that the intervention in the funeral ceremony was because some "thugs" took the coffin against the wishes of the deceased's family, instigated riots in the original parade, and also threw glass bottles and stones at other mourners and police.
"In order for the funeral to go smoothly, the police had to disperse the rioters and make arrests." However, this statement of the police has not yet been confirmed by Aklih's family.
According to the Times of Israel, 6 people were arrested in the incident. The article also mentioned that the police had apparently also received orders to stop the Palestinian flag from appearing during the march, but they did not take out their batons and beat people when they snatched the flag.
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