Palestinian street artists pay tribute to veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by painting her portrait on a mural in Gaza City.

Violence clouds Jerusalem funeral of Al Jazeera journalist

Thousands of people packed Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday for the burial of veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, after Israeli police stormed the funeral procession.

Television footage showed pallbearers struggling to stop Abu Akleh’s coffin from falling to the ground as baton-wielding police officers charged towards them, grabbing Palestinian flags from mourners.

According to the Jerusalem Red Crescent, 33 people were injured during the procession, of whom six were hospitalised.

In a fresh shootout in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli commando was killed near the flashpoint city of Jenin. The Islamic Jihad group said its fighters were responsible.

The Israeli army said an interim investigation could not determine who fired the fatal bullet, noting that stray Palestinian gunfire or Israeli sniper fire aimed at militants were both possible causes.

In a rare, unanimous statement, the UN Security Council on Friday condemned the killing and called for “an immediate, thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation,” according to diplomats, who noted negotiations over the wording were particularly contentious.

As her body left St Joseph’s hospital in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Israeli police stormed mourners who had hoisted Palestinian flags.

But prominent Palestinian figure Hanan Ashrawi said the police charge on pallbearers showed Israel’s “inhumanity”.

“Every family deserves to be able to lay their loved ones to rest in a dignified and unimpeded manner.”

Read the article in The Australian.