Friday 13 May 2022 08:17 PM White House condemns 'disturbing' footage of Israeli security forces beating ... trends now

The White House on Friday condemned as 'deeply disturbing' video footage from Jerusalem of Israeli police using batons to beat back pallbearers carrying the casket of slain Palestinian-American journalist for Al Jazeera.

She spoke after broadcast images of the attack on mourners carrying the casket of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh through streets, with Israeli police seen ripping away Palestinian flags and beating mourners as they made their way to a Catholic Church in the old city, in defiance of security orders. 

'Well, I would say first that we have all seen those images, they're obviously deeply disturbing,' Psaki said when asked about the event, which followed the shooting of the TV journalist, who was a fixture on the network and is a U.S. citizen. The Israel Defense Forces have admitted that the IDF may have shot the reporter during a raid in the West Bank.

'This is a day where we should all be marking – including everyone there – the memory of a remarkable journalist who lost her life. With the disturbing footage from the funeral procession procession today in Jerusalem. We regret the intrusion into what should have been a peaceful procession. We've urged respect for the funeral procession the mourners and the family at this sensitive time,' she continued. 

She said the administration was 'in close touch with Israeli and Palestinian authorities' and would continue those contacts. 'We're not currently involved in any of the investigation, but we are working to bridge cooperation and available to provide assistance as needed,' she said.

Her comment on the images, but not precisely the actions of Israeli security, prompted a question about whether the White House condemned the actions or believed they could be justified.

'I think when we said they were disturbing we obviously, we're not justifying them, but I will leave my comments at what I said,' said Psaki, exercising caution while discussing a key U.S. ally. 

She spoke after Baton-wielding Israeli police swarmed the funeral procession of mourners carrying the casket of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh through Jerusalem today.

The Israelis and Palestinians are both investigating, but it was not clear the U.S. would play any role in untangling what happened.

'We’ve offered our assistance to the Israelis, the Palestinians and are prepared to provide that should they want it,' Psaki said.

The shocking images broadcast by Al Jazeera show Israeli police beating mourners carrying Palestinian flags, the pall bearers getting jostled and the casket almost falling to the ground.

The incident occurred as the procession attempted to take the coffin of Abu Akleh - who was a Christian - to a nearby church for the funeral.

Al Jazeera report that the Israeli government had forbidden the procession from walking the coffin 45 minutes to the church and had insisted that the body be taken in a hearse.

They had also warned the brother of Abu Akleh to limit the size of the funeral procession and they forbid Palestinian flags from being displayed or slogans being chanted. 

The Qatari-owned media outlet even report that Israeli soldiers had been asking people entering the church if they were Muslim or Christian and barring entry to the former. 

'By our blood, and our soul, we will avenge your death,' protestors chanted at Israeli forces obstructing them from accompanying the coffin to the church. 

The scenes come as Israel admits that it may have been one of its soldiers that shot and killed the veteran Palestinian reporter during a West Bank raid on Wednesday. 

Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, a well known television personality in the Middle East, was fatally shot in the face while she reported on an IDF raid of a refugee camp in the north West Bank town of Jenin.

Initially both sides had pointed the finger at the other, with Al Jazeera and Qatar - which owns the media outlet - blaming an Israeli sniper for firing at their reporters who were clearly marked as press.

In response, Israel released a short video of a Palestinian gunmen firing down a corridor, saying militants had been firing 'indiscriminately' and that Abu Akleh was 'likely' killed by one of them. 

The video was swiftly debunked by online sleuths including B'Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, which showed that Palestinian gunmen seen in the video had no line of sight towards the location where Abu Akleh was killed.

Israeli sources have since started walking back their assertions, with Benny Gantz, the Israeli defence minister, conceding that she could have been shot by fire from 'our side'.