After shooting Shireen Abu Akleh dead, Israeli forces harass mourners at her funeral

Crown of mourners carrying Shireen Abu Akleh's casket at her funeral


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On 11 May, Israeli forces shot and killed Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Unbelievably, the Israeli army then attacked her funeral. Video footage shows Israeli soldiers targeting mourners. The soldiers ripped down the Palestinian flag and beat mourners, who then almost dropped Shireen’s casket:

VICE journalist Hind Hassan pointed out how many Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli forces:

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And rapper Lowkey shared the names of other Palestinian journalists Israeli forces have killed:

Israeli forces shot and killed Shireen in cold blood. This was an attack on freedom of the press. It was an attack on the right of Palestinians to exist. And it was an attack on everything Shireen stood for, including fearless reporting on the actions of an apartheid state.

Make no mistake, the Israeli army knew of Shireen Abu Akleh – as Al Jazeera producer Linah Alsaafin pointed out:

Media pattern

Predictably, just as Shireen’s killing was spun by mainstream media, so too was her funeral.

The BBC News world edition tried to disguise the despicable actions of Israeli forces:

And CBS News brought up the fabled ‘clashes’ again:

The willingness of so many media outlets to use such weak language only shows how fundamentally opposed they are to the existence of Palestinians. Israeli forces killed Shireen Abu Akleh. She spent her life reporting on those same forces. They attacked her funeral and stopped mourners from grieving the loss of a beloved reporter.

Middle East Eye shared an article which argued that misreporting is free propaganda:

As Middle East Eye argued, the silence from fellow journalists is directly propping up an apartheid state.

Silence is violence

Al Jazeera producer Laila Al-Arian pointed to this same silence from many journalists:

Moreover, VICE producer Lama Al-Arian also shared thoughts on the lack of solidarity:

Meanwhile AJ+ presenter and producer Dena Takruri pointed to the dehumanisation of Palestinians:

Also, Takruri explained how media outlets dismiss and distrust eyewitness accounts from Palestinians:

And one of Shireen’s friends and co-workers, foreign policy expert Rula Jebreal, shared her grief:

Community grief

However, that grief – as Palestinians know all too well – is conditional. The inaccurate reporting from many outlets reflects the fact that Palestinians are abandoned both in life and in death. Palestinians cannot grieve the same as everybody else. Palestinian deaths cannot be mourned without interference.

As AJ+ presenter Sana Saeed said:

So we must grieve openly and hold Shireen in our hearts. Her killing is indescribably painful, as is the attack on her funeral. Her family and loved ones must feel the outpourings of love and solidarity from the global community.

Featured image via screenshot YouTube/Al Jazeera

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