UN urges 'Israel' to protect freedom of assembly after funeral attack
The United Nations, a body known for its mostly for turning a blind eye to "Israel's" crimes, came to call on the Israeli occupation to step down its violence against Palestinians after it desecrated the body of martyr Shireen Abu Akleh.
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Israeli occupation police officers attacked mourners at the funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian journalist for Al Jazeera who the IOF killed this week in the occupied West Bank, occupied Palestine
The United Nations is aware of the "shocking" video showing violence during the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist martyr Shireen Abu Akleh in occupied Al-Quds, and it calls on the Israeli government "to protect the freedom of peaceful assembly", UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Friday.
Haq's words came in reference to footage of the Israeli occupation forces attacking people holding the coffin of the journalist murdered by the IOF in Jenin on Wednesday. The assault caused them to drop the coffin and reflected Israeli brutality that even the dead are not safe from.
"We have just seen the video coming from this, and this is very shocking to us," Haq told a press briefing.
Watch | The Israeli occupation brutally assaults the crowds at #ShireenAbuAkleh's funeral.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/TKTfwgLBLk
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 13, 2022
The Israeli occupation forces had murdered Palestinian reporter Shireen Abu Akleh and injured another Al Jazeera correspondent as the two were covering IOF raids in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Abu Akleh, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, was hit by a live bullet before being rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent that the occupation forces stormed the French hospital, where Abu Akleh's body was kept, confirming that the funeral procession was stormed and disrupted as the hospital got besieged.
The large crowds of Palestinians gathered in front of the French hospital to participate in the procession, where Israeli occupation forces were heavily deployed in front of the hospital in a bid to disperse and prevent crowds from carrying the coffin through the streets, and were physically assaulted.
Haq said the United Nations would try to gather more information about the incident.
Arriving at the Roman Catholic Church in occupied Al-Quds, the Israeli forces prevented crowds of Palestinians from entering the venue to participate in the procession, which was met with heavy deployment.
"Clearly, as in all cases, we want to make sure that the basic rights to freedom of assembly, and of course, the right to freedom of peaceful demonstration, are protected and upheld," he claimed.
Last week, "Israel" arrested 15 Palestinian journalists on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.
No country can attack or kill journalists, and those who are responsible for such actions need to be brought to account, Haq stressed, marking a shift in the UN sentiment toward the Israeli occupation, which has always been not neutral but inclined toward the occupation at the expense of the Palestinian people.
