Thousands of Palestinians on Thursday honoured Al Jazeera journalist Shireen
Abu Akleh across the occupied West Bank and annexed east
Jerusalem, a day after
she was shot dead during an Israeli army raid.
اضافة اعلان
Israel and the Palestinians have traded blame over the killing of
Palestinian-American Abu Akleh, 51, a veteran of the Qatar-based network's
Arabic service, during clashes in the Jenin refugee camp.
The United States, European Union and United Nations have backed calls for a
full investigation into what Al Jazeera labelled a deliberate killing "in
cold blood", but the Palestinian Authority (PA) has rejected holding a
joint probe with Israel.
In a sign of Abu Akleh's stature among Palestinians, she received what was
described as a full state memorial at the Ramallah compound of president Mahmud
Abbas.
Thousands lined the route as her coffin, draped in the Palestinian flag, was
driven through the West Bank city, where a street is to be renamed in her
honour.
Many held flowers, wreaths and pictures of the slain journalist, who has
been widely hailed for her bravery and professionalism through her coverage of
the conflict.
- 'Wound in our
hearts' -
"This crime should not go unpunished," said Abbas, adding that the
PA held Israel "completely responsible" for her death, and had
"rejected" an Israeli proposal for a joint investigation.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had said Wednesday it was
"likely" Abu Akleh was killed by stray Palestinian gunfire -- but
Defence Minister Benny Gantz later conceded that it could have been "the
Palestinians who shot her" or fire from "our side".
On a visit to Tehran, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani blamed
"Israeli occupation forces" for the "heinous crime".
Bennett on Thursday accused the PA of blocking Israel from accessing
"the basic findings that would be necessary in order to reach the
truth," and warned them not to "taint the investigative
process."
Draped in a Palestinian scarf, mourner Tariq Ahmed, 45, described the death
as a "tragedy for all the nation", comparing his grief to that he
felt at the funeral of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
"I have not felt this pain since Arafat died," Ahmed said.
Another mourner, 45-year-old Hadil Hamdan, said that "Shireen was part
of our lives", adding that "her voice entered every home, and
her loss is a wound in our hearts".
- No joint probe -
Abu Akleh, a Christian born in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, is scheduled
to be buried in the city on Friday.
As her coffin began its journey to Jerusalem to the drumbeat of a marching
band, crowds chanted slogans demanding an end to Palestinian security
cooperation with Israel.
Israel had publicly called for a joint probe and stressed the need for
Palestinian authorities to hand over the fatal bullet for forensic examination.
The European Union has urged an "independent" probe while the
United States demanded the killing be "transparently investigated",
calls echoed by UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet.
But senior PA official Hussein Al-Sheikh, a close Abbas confidant, said the
Palestinian "investigation would be completed independently".
He added that Abu Akleh's family, the United States, Qatar and "all
official authorities" would be informed of the results.
An initial autopsy and forensic examination were conducted in Nablus in the
Israel-occupied West Bank hours after her death, but no final conclusions have
been disclosed.
A source in the Palestinian attorney general's office said the results of a
preliminary report on the bullet were expected as early as Thursday evening.
- New Jewish
settlements -
In a move likely to further inflame West Bank tensions, Israel on Thursday
advanced plans for 4,427 Jewish settler homes.
About 475,000 settlers already live in the West Bank, alongside some 2.7
million Palestinians, in communities widely regarded as illegal under
international law.
Settlement monitor Peace Now warned the announcement "deepens the
occupation," while right-wing Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, a member of
Bennett's religious nationalist Yamina party, hailed a "day of celebration
for the settler movement."
Tensions had already risen with a wave of attacks that have killed at least
18 people in Israel since March 22, including an Arab-Israeli police officer
and two Ukrainians.
A total of 31 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs have died during the same
period, according to an AFP tally, among them perpetrators of attacks and those
killed by Israeli security forces in West Bank operations.
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