The top Catholic clergyman in Jerusalem has condemned the police beating of mourners carrying the coffin of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli forces last Wednesday, accusing Israeli authorities of violating human rights and disrespecting the Catholic Church.
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters on Monday at St Joseph Hospital that the incident, broadcast around the world, was a “disproportionate use of force” against the Palestinian flag-waving crowd of thousands proceeding from the hospital to a nearby Catholic church in Jerusalem’s Old City.
