Israel's top Catholic prelate condemns police funeral attack

The top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land says Israel's police attack on mourners during a funeral for an Al Jazeera journalist was a “severe” violation of human rights

JERUSALEM -- The top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land on Monday condemned the police beating of mourners carrying the casket of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, accusing the authorities of violating human rights and disrespecting the Catholic Church.

Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters at St. Joseph Hospital in Jerusalem that Friday's incident, broadcast around the world, was a “disproportionate use of force” to the Palestinian flag-waving crowd of thousands proceeding from the hospital to a nearby Catholic church in Jerusalem's Old City. The attack drew worldwide condemnation and added to the shock and outrage of Abu Akleh's killing as she covered a shootout in the occupied West Bank.

The police attack, Pizzaballa told reporters, “is a severe violation of international norms and regulations, including the fundamental human right of freedom of religion, which must be observed also in a public space." He spoke as the leaders and clergy of other Christian churches sat nearby.

There was no immediate Israeli response.