Israelis Who Attacked Abu Akleh’s Funeral Not to Be Punished

On Thursday, the Israeli police chief presented the findings of an investigation into what happened during the funeral of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May, when Israeli occupation forces attacked coffin bearers.

RELATED:

Palestine: Emergency Meeting Between Factions Over Prisoners

In the report submitted to the Ministry of Public Security, police authorities make no mention of sanctions against commanders who oversaw an operation in which officers attacked Palestinians at the largest public funeral East Jerusalem has seen in decades.

The police commissioner only acknowledged that "the funeral was complex." Regarding the images of police brutality clearly captured in videos, he assured that the officers' conduct "will be investigated to draw lessons and improve operating procedures in similar incidents."

Nevertheless, outlet Haaretz reported that the Police would have closed the investigation process without taking sanctions against any of the agents who attacked the mourners.

The Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned the decision "not to hold accountable the Israeli police that participated in the attack on the funeral", and assured that this strategy seeks to "cover up the crime, improve the image of the police, protect its members, and circumvent U.S. and international pressure" to conduct an impartial investigation.

On May 11, an Israeli sniper shot Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to death in occupied East Jerusalem. International outrage over this crime increased when Israeli policemen threw grenades and hit mourners carrying the coffin during her funeral.

Last week, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) delivered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) the results of its investigations into the death of the Al Jazeera journalist.

The Palestinian prosecutor showed that Shireen Abu Akleh was "deliberately" killed by Israeli soldiers since she was wearing a vest that perfectly identified her as a journalist. Israel assures it does not have conclusive information to establish who killed her. International human rights defenders are calling for an independent investigation to clarify the facts.