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The Catholic archbishop in Jerusalem on Monday strongly criticised Israel’s “police invasion” final week of a Christian hospital forward of the funeral of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
The veteran journalist was shot useless throughout an Israeli military raid within the West Financial institution. Palestinians and the TV community mentioned Israeli troops killed her, whereas Israel mentioned Palestinian gunfire might have been guilty.
Anger over her dying was compounded Friday when baton-wielding Israeli police in annexed east Jerusalem beat pallbearers carrying Abu Akleh’s coffin which was coated by a Palestinian flag.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Monday condemned “Israel’s police invasion and disproportionate use of power” at St Joseph’s hospital, the place her physique was being held.
At a press convention on the hospital, he criticised Israeli police for “attacking mourners, placing them with batons, utilizing smoke grenades (and) capturing rubber bullets”.
Police had stormed the hospital, “disrespecting the church, disrespecting the well being institute (and) disrespecting the reminiscence of the deceased,” mentioned Pizzaballa, talking on behalf of the bishops of the Holy Land.
The hospital is owned by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition, a French-founded congregation that has been current in former Palestine and Israel for almost 200 years.
– Chaotic scenes –
Israeli police have vowed to analyze the chaotic incident, which sparked widespread condemnation together with from america, European Union and United Nations.
These calls echoed world calls for for an neutral probe into the dying of Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American, who Al Jazeera mentioned was killed by Israel “intentionally” and “in chilly blood”.
Israel’s military has mentioned it was not but clear if she was killed by stray Palestinian gunfire or by Israeli sniper hearth aimed toward close by militants within the West Financial institution flashpoint district of Jenin.
Israeli police have in the meantime supplied a collection of explanations for the unrest on the day of her funeral. In a police video, an officer is seen telling the gang that the procession wouldn’t start till the gang stopped “nationalistic”, or Palestinian, chants.
Israeli forces continuously crack down on people publicly expressing their Palestinian identification, together with by waving the flag.
They’ve additionally mentioned they had been compelled to behave to uphold the plans for the funeral agreed with the household, which had been being disrupted by a “mob” made up of some “300 rioters”.
The Abu Akleh household has categorically rejected the police model of occasions.
The late journalist’s brother Anton Abu Akleh mentioned that police had referred to as him the night time earlier than the funeral to insist there shouldn’t be “any Palestinian flags, no slogans and no chanting”.
When the household arrived on the hospital on Friday, police already appeared poised for unrest, he defined, saying “the roads had been blocked, (officers) had been totally armoured, prepared for a riot.”
He urged accountability over the “savage” Israeli motion.
– ‘Completely gratuitous’ –
Lina Abu Akleh, the late journalist’s niece, mentioned {that a} police officer “threatened to beat me if I did not transfer out of the best way”, and that she hid contained in the hospital as soon as the police began throwing stun grenades at mourners.
St Joseph’s director Jamil Kousa informed AFP that he had spoken to police exterior the hospital on Friday and pleaded that the procession be allowed to go forward “peacefully”, however that officers defined it might be blocked if mourners shouted Palestinian nationwide “chants.”
Father Luc Pareydt, advisor for non secular affairs on the French Consulate in Jerusalem who was additionally on the press convention, informed AFP he was struck by how “calm and dignified” the mourners had been earlier than the police raid.
A spontaneous joint prayer between Palestinian Muslims and Christians broke out within the hospital yard earlier than the raid, he mentioned.
The Israeli response, he insisted, “was completely gratuitous and fully unjustified by way of proportionality.”
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