Thousands gathered Thursday to mourn the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in an exchange of fire between Palestinian gunmen and the Israeli army.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke during the funeral ceremony, which takes place at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abu Akleh will be buried on Friday in East Jerusalem.
Abbas said that Israel bears full responsibility for the killing of Abu Aklehn. He also vowed to take the case to the International Criminal Court. In addition, Abbas awarded Abu Akleh the Al-Quds star of honor, the second most important award given by the Palestinian president.
Shireen Abu Akleh, a dual U.S.-Palestinian citizen, was killed in an exchange of fire between Israel Defense Forces and armed Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday.
Her death sparked condemnation from the U.S., the European Union, the UN, Turkey, and Qatar.
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A priest holds a poster depicting Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh who was killed in an Israeli raid, in Ramallah, in the West Bank on Thursday. MOHAMAD TOROKMAN/ REUTERS
IDF sources say that in the course of the military raid, Abu Akleh was killed in an exchange of gunfire between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen – though that it remains unclear whose gunfire is responsible for her death.
Israel requested the bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh for forensic testing, and to conduct a joint investigation into her death – both of which were rejected according to Palestinian Minister Hussein al-Shiekh.
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