The Joe Biden administration protested against the Israeli government for alleged behavior by Israeli police at Friday’s funeral for the Palestinian-American journalist Shirin Abu Akle, who was shot dead while covering the conflict last year.
Akle, 51, reported an Israeli raid aimed at detaining suspected Palestinians amid the ongoing wave of Palestinian terror against Israeli civilians. Palestinian militants opened fire on Israeli soldiers. The bullet hit Abu Akle in the neck, but it was unclear who fired the gun, and Palestinian officials refused to cooperate in a joint investigation.
On Friday, during the funeral for Abu Akle in Jerusalem, Israeli police stepped into the mourning crowd and the coffin was nearly dropped. The procession began far from the designated route, and the mourners in the crowd provocatively unfurled Palestinian flags.
Israeli police confront mourners carrying the coffin of Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shirin Abu Akle, who was killed at his funeral in East Jerusalem on Friday, May 13, 2022. Abu Akle is a Palestinian-American reporter who has covered the conflict in the Middle East for more than 25 years. years. He was shot down during an attack by Israeli soldiers on the West Bank city of Jenin. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)
Israeli police later said they were pelted with stones and other shells by the procession, but it was unclear whether this happened before or after the initial clashes.
Saturday also marked the 74th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel according to the secular calendar. Palestinians call it “Nakba Day” to commemorate the “disaster” of Israel’s founding, and it often stems from the unrest of Palestinian activists.
According to Axios Middle East correspondent Barak Ravid, the Biden administration held an official protest in Israel:
KIRMA: US and Israeli sources told me that US officials protested the Israeli police’s actions to the Israeli government during Shirin Abu Akle’s funeral. Sources said Biden administration officials were angry and disappointed because of this.
– Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 13, 2022
Retired White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the photos were “disturbing” in response to journalists’ questions about the march. Some Democrats criticized Israel. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN) called it Israel’s “murder”.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose promotion last year promised to improve relations between the post-Netanyahu government and the left-wing US government, is struggling to rein in the violence and gain the trust of the Biden Democrats.
Joel B. Pollack is Senior Editor and news anchor for Breitbart News Breitbart Market News Every Sunday night from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of the recently published e-book Neither Free nor Fair: 2020 US Presidential Election. last book RETURN NOVEMBERtells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries from a conservative perspective. Won the 2018 Robert Novak Graduate Journalism Fellowship. follow him on twitter @joelpollak.
Source: Breitbart
