‘Shireen served Palestine cause in her life and death’
Muscat - The Palestinian Embassy in Oman organised a condolence meeting for the slain Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
She was killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday while covering Israeli army raids in the city of Jenin in northern occupied West Bank.
A Palestinian Embassy statement said, ‘Mourners expressed their strong condemnation of this terrible double crime, which was the execution of Shireen, as well as the assault on the sanctity of her funeral and the brutal suppression of mourners.’
It added that those who gathered at the meet praised what Shireen stood for in the Arab media, embodying the Palestinian cause and the suffering of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.
Among the mourners was H E Abdallah Abasi Kilima, Ambassador of Tanzania to Oman. “I am here to express our solidarity with the Palestinian people in this tragic event and to show to the world that Palestinians are not alone in their hour of grief. We are working with the international community to see that Palestinian suffering comes to an end with the two-state solution.”
Also present was Alessandro Garbellini, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Italy. He conveyed Italy’s sincere condolences to the Palestinian authorities and people for the assassination of Shireen. “Protecting freedom of information is fundamental and it was suppressed with violence. Italy condemns the use of unproportionate use of force. There is an urgent need to find a solution to restore peace between Palestine and Israel.”
On his part, H E Dr Tayseer Ali Farhat, Palestinian Ambassador, said that as much as Palestinians were sad on the death of Shireen, “We are proud of what she has provided through out her media career, putting the Palestinian cause on the world map.
“Shireen served the cause of Palestine in her life. She also served it after her death. She unified all the Palestinian people and exposed their occupation when the Israeli army attacked mourners at her farewell march - the first time this has happened. No one can accept this. It is against all international laws and it is against humanity.”
Officials of several diplomatic and consular missions, including Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Brazil, China, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, USA and Pakistan, in addition to Palestinian and Arab community members visited the embassy to offer condolences.