Violence at a reporter’s funeral was condemned by Christian authorities

The Vatican’s envoy in Jerusalem has accused Israel of “brutally breaking” a decades-old accord to protect religious freedom.

It comes after Israeli police attacked the funeral of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on Friday.

Officers attacked and battered pallbearers and fired stun grenades into the crowd at St Joseph Hospital.

Monsignor Tomasz Grysa, the Holy See’s representative in Jerusalem, called the attack unlawful and unwarranted.

The Israeli authorities have failed to reply to the church leaders’ remarks, but have previously stated that the funeral would be investigated.

On Wednesday, Abu Akleh, a seasoned Al Jazeera journalist who was also a Christian, was killed during an Israeli army arrest operation in the occupied West Bank.

On Monday, the representatives of 15 Jerusalem denominations held a news conference at St Joseph Hospital to protest what they called the “violent incursion” of Israeli police into Abu Akleh’s funeral procession.

According to Monsignor Grysa, a 1993 agreement between the Roman Catholic Church and Israel “upholds and observes the human right to freedom of religion, which has been cruelly violated in this case.”

“The Israel Police’s invasion and disproportionate use of force – attacking mourners, striking them with batons, using smoke grenades, shooting rubber bullets, frightening hospital patients – is a severe violation of international norms and regulations, including the fundamental human right to freedom of religion,” said Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land.

Jamil Koussa, director of St Joseph Hospital, said it was now evident that the goal of police assault was the coffin itself, exhibiting video of the beatings and fresh CCTV photos of the hospital facility being attacked by police in an attempt to “horrify everybody in the premises.”

The East Jerusalem hospital is famous for its maternity ward and known for its care for Muslim, Jewish, and Christian families alike. The staff calls it a “place of healing”. But on Friday they were treating wounds among their own medical staff.

Many doctors and nurses had come outside to pay their respects to Abu Akleh when the Israeli forces surged into the compound.

For the latest International News Follow BOL News on Google News. Read more on Latest International News on oldsite.bolnews.com