Churches condemn Israeli police actions at Shireen Abu Akleh, Al Jazeera reporter’s funeral
On Monday, a group representing 12 Christian denominations decried Israeli riot police activities during the funeral of a Palestinian Christian Al Jazeera journalist, calling them a violation of religious freedom.
When police charged, mourners, some carrying Palestinian flags, were taking Shireen Abu Akleh’s corpse from the convent-run Saint Joseph Hospital to the Greek-Melkite Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Virgin.
The incident on Friday, in which baton-wielding officers assaulted Abu Akleh’s pallbearers, was aired live around the world, reigniting international outrage over the reporter’s death during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank.
According to the Christian Churches of the Holy Land, the police acts constituted a “invasion and disproportionate use of force… (and) a flagrant violation of international norms and rules, including the fundamental right to freedom of religion,” according to a hospital statement.
While blaming the clash on “hundreds of protesters,” police claimed they were investigating the event.
The Palestinian Authority and Israel are still at odds over Abu Akleh’s shooting in Jenin on Wednesday.
Palestinians accuse Israel of assassinating her and have demanded a global response. Israel has denied targeting her, claiming she was inadvertently shot by a soldier or a Palestinian gunman during a firefight.
