White House calls images of Israeli police attacking funeral of slain Palestinian journalist 'deeply

[Beastly Boy]

6. I was addressing the intent of cefrtain participants in the context of the funeral.

And their intent was to protest, not to mourn.

Nowhere did I advocate in favor of the prohibition against displaying the Palestinian flag or attempted to justify any such prohibition (I personally think this prohibition is plain stupid, not just in the context of a funeral, but in general). But at the funeral, the protestors, easily identifiable by the flags they waved (and I am making a distinction here between mourners and protestors), had a choice to make: keep the funeral dignified, or protest. They chose the latter even prior to the start of the procession. It was their choice. Their actions were deliberate and premeditated, and they bare responsibility for it.

Nor was I making any excuses for the crude and excessive response of the Israeli police. I thought I made it clear when I posted: "However, in the context of a funeral procession, their actions were totally disrespectful to the dead journalist and the people who came to mourn and not to protest".

But I will not make any excuses for the conduct of the Palestinian extremists either.