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US slams Israeli Police over violence at Al Jazeera journalist’s funeral procession

WorldUS slams Israeli Police over violence at Al Jazeera journalist's funeral procession

Antony Blinken said in a statement, “We were deeply troubled to see the images of Israeli police intruding into Al Jazeera journalist’s funeral procession today.”

The United States is reported to be deeply troubled by Israeli police’s intrusion on Friday at the slain Palestinian-American Shireen Abu Akleh journalist’s funeral, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Blinken said in a statement, “We were deeply troubled to see the images of Israeli police intruding into her funeral procession today. Every family deserves to be able to lay their loved ones to rest in a dignified and unimpeded manner.”

He further said, “We remain in close contact with our Israeli and Palestinian counterparts and call on all to maintain calm and avoid any actions that could further escalate tensions.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki earlier also called the images “obviously deeply disturbing” and voiced “regret” over the intrusion, without explicitly condemning US ally Israel.

Television footage showed pallbearers struggling to stop Abu Akleh’s coffin from falling to the ground as baton-wielding Israeli police officers charged at them, grabbing Palestinian flags from mourners.

Israeli forces attacked a funeral procession for a Palestinian American journalist shot dead this week, kicking and hitting people with batons and causing mourners carrying her coffin to lose balance and drop it to the ground.

Abu Akleh, a star journalist for Al Jazeera, was killed as she covered unrest in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The Qatar-based network alleged that she was deliberately targeted by Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett initially said that armed Palestinians were “likely” responsible but Israel has since walked back the allegation and said it was investigating.

According to the Guardian report, Palestinian flags, which are rarely seen, were openly waved by many of the thousands of people who circumvented roadblocks in occupied East Jerusalem to join the funeral procession on Friday for Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh. Mourners sang the Palestinian national anthem and chanted “Palestine! Palestine!”

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