Al Jazeera, PA Accuse Israel’s Military of ‘Assassination’ of Palestinian Journalist
Shireen Abu Akleh, who held US citizenship, was covering an Israel Defense Forces raid in the West Bank
Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead Wednesday while reporting on an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Abu Akleh, a Palestinian Christian from Jerusalem who also held US citizenship, had covered Israel and the West Bank for the state-owned Qatari network for 25 years.
The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry said she was shot in the head by a live bullet.
The Qatar-based TV news channel issued a statement accusing the Israel Defense Forces of deliberately targeting Abu Akleh and killing her “in cold blood.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Israeli soldiers had killed Abu Akleh “by shooting her in the face,” and described it as an act of “state-sponsored Israeli terrorism.”
“Israeli occupation killed Aljazeera journalist Shirine Abu Aqleh by shooting her in the face while wearing the Press vest and a helmet. She was covering their attack in Jenin refugee camp. This state sponsored Israeli terrorism must STOP, unconditional support to Israel must END,” tweeted Qatar’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Lolwah Alkhater.
Abu Akleh, 51, was a distinguished reporter for the channel’s Arabic news service. She was working with Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Samudi, who was wounded in the incident.
She was wearing a helmet and flak jacket with the word “Press” clearly written on it when she was shot.
A statement from Al Jazeera said: “In a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Palestine.”
It called on the international community to hold the Israeli forces accountable for their “intentional targeting and killing” of the journalist.
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said it was “likely” that Palestinian gunfire killed her.
“According to the information we’ve gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians – who were indiscriminately firing at the time – were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist,” the prime minister said in a statement Wednesday.
The IDF confirmed it was carrying out an operation in the Jenin refugee camp early Wednesday but denied it had purposely targeted a journalist.
“At this stage, it is not possible to determine whose shooting she was hit by and we are sorry for her death,” IDF Chief of General Staff Aviv Kochavi said in a statement. “In order to get to the truth, we have set up a special team that will clarify the facts and present them in full and as soon as possible.”
The death of Shireen Abu Akleh should not go to waste and those who killed her should be held accountable
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party, told The Media Line that the Israeli army is behind Abu Akleh’s killing, rejecting the Israeli military’s early assertion that it was not responsible for the killing.
“What happened today is a very clear crime of assassination; the Israeli army assassinated in cold blood a very well-known journalist, a fantastic, very objective journalist who has for tens of years done wonderful work in bringing the reality and the objective facts about what’s happening in Palestine,” he said.
Barghouti accused the West, including the United States, of a double standard when it comes to the Palestinians.
“I want everybody, especially the American spokespersons, to imagine if Shireen Abu Akleh was in Ukraine and was killed there. Would the reaction be similar to what we say today?”
“The death of Shireen Abu Akleh should not go to waste and those who killed her should be held accountable,” added Barghouti.
The US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, tweeted that he was “very sad to learn of the death of American and Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh” and called for “a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death.”
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority labeled Abu Akleh’s killing an “execution” and part of an Israeli effort to obscure the “truth” about its occupation of the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Hamas in Gaza called the incident “a premeditated murder.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed his sorrow at the killing of Abu Akleh; however, he refused to place the blame on the Israeli army, saying that it “would never intentionally harm members of the press, and any attempt to imply otherwise is baseless.”
In remarks he delivered at the Knesset, Gantz said he would pass on the results of an Israeli investigation “in a clear and transparent manner to our American friends, as well as to the Palestinian Authority.”
Gantz confirmed that Israel asked the Palestinians to conduct a joint investigation, but the request was rejected.
Ammar Dweik, director general of the Palestinian Independent Human Rights Commission, told The Media Line that a credible independent international investigation must take place, and the results must be published.
“The Israelis are asking for a joint Palestinian-Israeli investigation; that’s unacceptable. The accused cannot investigate themselves. The Israelis are accused of this crime. We ask for an independent, credible international investigation nothing less than that and we challenge the Israelis for such an investigation to take place,” he said.
The Israelis are asking for a joint Palestinian-Israeli investigation; that’s unacceptable. The accused cannot investigate themselves. The Israelis are accused of this crime.
Dweik said that Abu Akleh was a “professional and responsible journalist, she had long experience covering incidents in the field in conflict zones, she took all the precautions, she knew where to stand and knew how to maintain her safety.”
He accused Israel of intentionally targeting journalists.
“Unfortunately, Shireen is not the first journalist to be targeted and killed by Israeli authorities. In 2018, two journalists were killed by Israeli snipers while covering the marches in Gaza,” he said.
Israel has denied that it targets journalists.
The Foreign Press Association in Israel issued a statement saying that it was “appalled and deeply shocked by the killing of veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. Her death is a tremendous loss for journalism, and the FPA offers its deepest condolences to Al Jazeera and her family.”
FPA said it welcomes the Israeli military’s pledge to launch an investigation but added that: “Given the Israeli security forces’ poor record of investigating violence against journalists, we urge a speedy investigation and call for full transparency in the probe,” and urged the military to “release any video its forces collected during the incident.”
Abu Akleh was born in Jerusalem and held both a Jerusalem residency card and an American passport. She began working for Al Jazeera in 1997, reporting from several places around the Middle East, including Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Israel, making her one of the region’s most trusted, loved, well-known and most experienced female reporter.
