Congressional lawmakers and both current and former US diplomats expressed outrage after footage emerged showing Israeli police officers beating mourners in the funeral procession of a journalist.
The attack by Israeli forces against mourners at the funeral of a Palestinian journalist is an outrage and the United States must demand an independent investigation into her killing.
This is just cruel, says Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, responded to the footage by saying it was awful to watch.
The funeral attacks were weighed in by the Biden administration. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said she was deeply distressed by the images.
The tragedy of her killing should be handled with care and respect, according to Thomas-Greenfield.
The White House regretted the intrusion into what should have been a peaceful procession, according to Jen Psaki.
A well-known and respected journalist, Abu Akleh, was shot and killed in the West Bank on Wednesday while reporting on Israeli military raids in the city of Jenin. Eye witnesses said Abu Akleh was shot by Israeli forces. Al Jazeera explicitly blamed the killing on Israeli forces and decried it as a blatant murder.
Bennett suggested that the journalist may have been shot by Palestinians. The Israeli Defense Minister said that Abu Akleh may have been killed by fire from our side.
In a statement, Israeli police said they were forced to act after rioters began throwing stones at them.
—Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) May 13, 2022
—Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 13, 2022
The former US diplomat who advised multiple secretaries of state on the Middle East said that regardless of what an investigation into Abu Akleh's death reveals, the Israeli government has already lost.
It is hard to imagine a more self-destructive wound than scenes of Israeli police attacking Palestinians.
The Palestinian Authority refused to conduct a joint investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh.
Israel requested a joint investigation and the handing over of the bullet that killed the journalist, and we refused that, and we will inform her family, America, and all official authorities of the results of the investigation.
The US State Department stopped short of endorsing an independent inquiry into the killing of Abu Akleh.
The UN human rights experts demanded an independent, impartial, effective, thorough and transparent investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
