The funeral of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead Wednesday in Jenin during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, is to be held Friday in a church in Jerusalem.
The body of this figure from the Qatari channel Al Jazeera has been transferred to Jerusalem, where his funeral will take place in a church. Shireen Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Christian born in East Jerusalem, is to be buried the same day next to her parents in a cemetery near the Old City.
Several thousand Palestinians paid their respects on Thursday. Palestinian officials, foreign diplomats and a crowd of Palestinians took part in the official ceremony in Ramallah, at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank, where the journalist’s coffin wrapped in the Palestinian flag was carried.
Shireen Abu Akleh was wearing a “press” bulletproof vest and a reporter’s helmet in Jenin, a city in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel for more than 50 years, when she was shot in the head.
The announcement of his death has aroused great emotion in the Palestinian Territories and in the Arab world where his reports have been followed for more than two decades, as well as in Europe and the United States.
Several spontaneous rallies took place in the Palestinian Territories to protest once morest his death and a street in Ramallah will be renamed in his name.
– “Forensic evidence” –
Shireen “was the sister of all Palestinians,” her brother Antoun Abu Akleh told AFP on Wednesday, her voice choked with tears. “What happened cannot be ignored (…) She will not be forgotten”.
The Israeli army has launched several operations in recent weeks in the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed factions in the northern West Bank from which the perpetrators of deadly attacks in Israel originated.
The origin of the fatal bullet has given rise to various claims.
Al Jazeera accused Israeli forces of “deliberately” and “cold blooded” killing of its star journalist.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for his part suggested that she had “probably” succumbed to fire from Palestinian fighters.
But a few hours later, her defense minister Benny Gantz said the army “was not sure how she was killed”. “It may have been a Palestinian who shot her (…) The shot may also have come from our side, we are investigating”.
“We need forensic evidence” from the Palestinians, including the bullet that killed the journalist, in order to carry out a “full” investigation, Gantz added.
Israel claimed the bullet from the Palestinians so that “a scientific investigation to trace the origin of the shot” might be carried out, an Israeli security source told AFP.
The Jewish state also offered Palestinian and American officials “to be present” during the examination, according to the same source.
– Divergences on the investigation –
The Palestinian Authority chaired by Mahmoud Abbas has for its part rejected the idea of a joint investigation with Israel, accusing the Israeli army of having killed it.
“We hold the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for his death,” Abbas said during Thursday’s ceremony, explaining his refusal of a joint investigation by saying that “the Israeli authorities committed this crime and we do not don’t trust them.” He said he wanted to go to the International Criminal Court.
“The investigation must be completely independent,” said Hussein al-Sheikh, a tenor from the Palestinian Authority, promising to make the results public “with great transparency”.
“Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority prevents at this stage any possibility of a joint investigation or even access to the elementary conclusions which are necessary to reach the truth”, estimated for his part Naftali Bennett.
The United States has “strongly condemned the murder” and called for a “transparent” investigation, preferably joint between Israelis and Palestinians. The UN and the European Union have pleaded for an “independent” investigation.
Visiting Tehran on Thursday, the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani accused Israel of killing the journalist. “The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be held to account,” he said.
