Agencies-Gaza post
White House: Attacking funeral of slain Shireen Abu Aqleh by IOF ‘deeply disturbing’
The scenes from a funeral procession in Jerusalem for a Palestinian-American journalist who was fatally shot during an Israeli raid were “deeply disturbing,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki, said on Friday as widely shared footage shows Israeli soldiers beating pallbearers carrying the coffin containing Shireen Abu Akleh’s body.
“We’ve all seen the pictures. They are definitely distressing. On this day, we should all be remembering a wonderful journalist who lost her life, including everyone present,” Ms. Psaki stated from the White House on May 13.
“We regret the interruption of what should have been a peaceful parade with the upsetting footage from the funeral procession today in Jerusalem,” she said. “At this difficult time, we ask for respect for the funeral procession, the mourner, and the family.”
She went on to say that Joe Biden’s administration is “connected with Israeli and Palestinian officials.”
According to witnesses and the Palestinian health ministry, the longstanding Al Jazeera cameraman was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on May 11 while covering Israeli army incursions in Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank.
“Condemn and hold the Israeli occupation troops accountable for deliberately targeting and killing our colleague,” Al Jazeera has urged the world community.
On Friday, Israeli police encircled the crown and assaulted mourners with batons as they carried a casket bearing her body from the St Louis French Hospital in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Stun grenades were reportedly said to have been deployed.
The White House demanded a “immediate and complete investigation and full accountability” for her death earlier this week. Ms. Psaki said in a statement on Wednesday that “investigating attacks on independent media and pursuing those guilty is of utmost importance.”
