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The Palestine/US journalist Shireen Abu Akleh aka 'Jazeerian' shot
through the head and slaughtered by an Israeli sniper.
Le Monde
14 May 2022
By Louis Imbert
Jerusalem (Israel), correspondent
<<With the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, Israel faces its responsibilities
as an occupier.
NEWS ANALYSIS
The star reporter of the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera channel was killed on
Wednesday in an Israeli army raid in Jenin, West Bank.
These images are grainy and of poor quality but are devastating for the
Israeli army. The body of Shireen Abu Akleh lies lifeless at the foot of
a tree on Wednesday, May 11, at the entrance of an alley in the Jenin
refugee camp. Her colleague, the journalist Shaza Hanaysheh, and then a
young man from the camp tried to help this well-known face in the West
Bank, star of the pan-Arab channel Al-Jazeera. Both of them changed
their minds several times, fearing the sudden, punctual and regular
shooting without bursts.
According to Ms. Hanaysheh, their group was targeted by Israeli soldiers
while they were conducting a raid in the northern Jenin refugee camp.
Ali Al-Samodi, an Al-Jazeera producer, was hit by a bullet but not
seriously injured. He said, <There were no fighters where we were,
none... They shot at us directly and deliberately.>
The Israeli army then succumbed to its habitual weakness: It explicitly
projected only one scenario, <the possibility that the journalists were
hit by Palestinian gunmen.> On military radio, a spokesman goes so far
as to equate Ms. Abu Akleh with an enemy combatant, who <was filming and
working for a media outlet among armed Palestinians. They are armed with
cameras, if you don't mind me saying so.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/05/12/with-the-death-of-shireen-abu-akleh-israel-faces-its-responsibilities-as-an-occupier_5983214_4.html
Al Jazeera
13 May 2022
By an Al Jazeera team
<<Slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh laid to rest
Abu Akleh was fatally shot by Israeli forces while reporting in the
occupied West Bank.
Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has been laid to rest in
a cemetery in occupied East Jerusalem, three days after she was fatally
shot by Israeli forces while reporting on a raid in the occupied West
Bank. Thousands of people gathered for Abu Akleh’s funeral on Friday,
including family, friends, and those who only knew Abu Akleh as a
mainstay for 15 years in Al Jazeera’s coverage of the occupied
Palestinian territories and the lives of everyday Palestinians. Some
mourners hoisted Palestinian flags, with many chanting <Palestine,
Palestine> as the coffin was moved from St Louis French Hospital in
occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood to a funeral
service at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City and finally to the Mount
Zion Cemetery, where Abu Akleh was buried next to her parents.
Her niece, Lina Abu Akleh, remembered her aunt’s <commitment to making
sure that people know the truth, and her love for the people in making
sure they know the truth.> She knew how much she was loved, but she was
so humble, she never wanted to be at the centre of attention,” she said.
“I think she would have been proud to see how the Palestinian people
supported her and supported our family,>
Father Fadi Diab, the priest who conducted the funeral, told Al Jazeera
that Abu Akleh’s killing would <have influence all over the world.
Shireen Abu Akleh was a messenger for Palestinians and for their rights,>
he said. <Life is sacred and we’re not allowed to assassinate life. God
created life not to be assassinated, but to be nurtured.> <If someone
imagined that the influence of Shireen will stop, no,> he said. <Now,
she will have influence all over the world.> Still, constant reminders
of the Israeli occupation on which Abu Akleh so often reported loomed
over the three days of memorials that preceded the burial.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/13/slain-al-jazeera-journalist-shireen-abu-akleh-laid-to-rest
Al Jazeera
13 May 2022
By Maram Humaid
<<Lessons from Shireen Abu Akleh’s life, and death
For Al Jazeera’s reporter in Gaza, Maram Humaid, Shireen Abu Akleh was
an inspiration to become a journalist.
The news of Shireen Abu Akleh’s death was a shock like no other,
freezing the blood in my veins, and leaving me with trembling hands as I
tried to scroll on my phone to find out more information. Maybe it was
inaccurate? Memories came back of watching Shireen while I was growing
up, a presence on screen for the last 20 years, a young woman journalist
carrying a microphone with an Al Jazeera logo, reporting news from
Jerusalem, Jenin, Ramallah, and Israel’s repeated incursions across the
occupied West Bank. But it was true. Shireen had been cruelly killed
doing what she had always done: reporting. Shireen’s untimely absence
has revealed how she has become an integral part of keeping together our
Palestinian memory, our national identity, our relationship with the
land, and the occupier. For those of us, like myself, in the Gaza Strip,
where Israel divides us from the West Bank and Jerusalem, despite them
being only two hours away, she connected us. As a fellow Palestinian
woman journalist, Shireen was an exceptional role model. <Shireen Abu
Akleh, Al Jazeera, occupied Jerusalem> – her memorable closing line,
with her calm and melodious voice, fueled my passion for journalism, and
that of my generation of young women, holding a hairbrush in front of
the mirror and imitating her. Despite our familiarity with Israel’s
actions as an occupying force against the Palestinian people over the
years, Shireen’s killing was still unbelievably tragic and painful. It
was yet another slap in the face, emphasising that for the Israeli
occupation, there is little difference between a journalist, a paramedic,
or any civilian. We are all the same, and all potentially subject to
attack. Shireen’s experience, her constant presence, made us think that
she was an exception, that her years of professionalism, her fame, even
among Israelis, would intercede for her, and prevent her from being
targeted.
We were wrong.
The bullet that killed Shireen metaphorically killed every Palestinian
woman journalist. It brought us back to zero, to being fearful and
anxious about this troublesome profession, and the reality of doing it
while living under occupation, the potential that we can be targeted at
any moment. We have realised that no one is an exception, not even
Shireen. Even in death, Shireen gives us Palestinian journalists lessons.
She was a hero, who was loyal to the truth, and to the noble message of
journalism. Her conviction in her work and its importance was clearly
translated in the sweeping love of the masses of people who took to the
streets to pay tribute to her soul and wept for her memory. Shireen’s
death taught us that people do not forget those who value the truth and
appreciate a faithful reporter who can convey the voice and suffering of
the masses. A journalist must be human before everything else, and close
to the people whose message they are carrying. And that is how Shireen
was throughout her professional career, taking us in her reports from
one town to another, through the Israeli checkpoints, and inside
Palestinian homes full of stories of those who’ve died for the cause,
prisoners, the wounded, and their families. Shireen’s death has taught
us that a journalist can convey a just cause and that their devotion to
spreading their people’s message is not prejudiced, or a detachment from
professionalism. The price, however, is that you can pay for it with
your life. Shireen Abu Akleh, the constant presence on our screen, had
an extended, loving family in every Palestinian home. Her message will
remain, imperishable, and continue to spread – we Palestinian
journalists will make sure of it.>>
Source: Al Jazeera
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/13/lessons-from-shireen-abu-akleh-life-death
Liberation
13 May 2022
By Kenya Elliott
<<Palestinians determined to resist following assassination of
journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Tens of thousands of mourners marched today as part of the funeral
procession for assassinated Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. In
a continuation of their long history of killing those in Palestine who
work to show the truth of brutal apartheid rule, Israeli forces murdered
Abu Akleh on Wednesday. She was covering an Israeli military raid in the
Palestinian city of Jenin when she was assassinated by an Israeli sniper.
Israeli forces outrageously attacked mourners present at the funeral,
shooting stun grenades and beating many of those in attendance.
Abu Akleh was with a group of three other Palestinian journalists when
she was killed. Another member of the group, Ali al-Samoudi, was also
shot and injured. All four journalists were wearing vests and helmets
that clearly identified them as being members of the press. In addition,
no Palestinian fighters were present at the scene when Israeli forces
opened fire, and the Israeli forces continued to shoot even after they
had hit Abu Akleh. The group of journalists were clearly targeted by the
Israeli forces, despite the fact that there was no mistaking their
status as members of the press.
One of the most well-known and respected journalists in Palestine, Abu
Akleh was viewed as honest, brave and powerful. She had been covering
news related to the Israeli apartheid state for decades, and her name
was a household one. She was widely considered to be a voice of the
Palestinian struggle and experience living under occupation, and was
known not only for her reporting, but also for her social involvement.
The murder of such a prominent journalist is a significant escalation by
Israel. However, the targeting of Palestinian journalists by Israel is
nothing new. Israeli forces are reported to have killed 83 Palestinian
reporters over the course of the last 50 years.
....
Some of the tactics employed by Israel to attack Palestinian media
workers include firing live ammunition on journalists, targeting
photojournalists with steel bullets, police intimidation of the press
while covering events, and disruption of live reports and footage.
Israel has also launched airstrikes on buildings that housed the offices
of media organizations, including the bombing of a building in Gaza that
was home to several media offices less than a year ago.
The murder of Shireen Abu Akleh has had a profound impact on the
Palestinian people, but the will to resist has only gotten stronger. Her
death has become a focal point of mass struggle. There is such global
outrage that criticism of the assassination of Abu Akleh, who held U.S.
citizenship, has even come from the halls of the U.S. Congress and White
House. All U.S. aid to Israel must immediately end in light of this and
many other horrific crimes.>>
Read more here:
https://www.liberationnews.org/palestinians-determined-to-resist-following-assassination-of-journalist-shireen-abu-akleh/
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Andrew Mitrovica
Opinion
Al Jazeera columnist
<<Some truths about Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder
She was not 'killed'. Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered.
She was shot in the face. Not in the arm or a leg. In the face. That is
not a <kill> shot. That is a murder shot.
Abu Akleh was shot in the face, on purpose, while doing what she has
been doing since 1997 for Al Jazeera: telling the truth. She was
murdered for telling, yet again, the truth about how Israel has
corralled, bludgeoned, <raided>, evicted, jailed, traumatised, tortured,
murdered, and terrorised Palestinian after Palestinian, day after day,
week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after
decade. Abu Akleh did her job well. She did it with grace, patience and
resilience despite the indignities, horrors and dangers. It was her duty,
obligation, and responsibility to bear witness. Every day, Palestinians
risk being murdered because they are Palestinian. It does not matter
where they live – in Gaza, Jerusalem or the West Bank – every day,
Palestinians risk being murdered because they are Palestinian. It does
not matter what they do for a living – if they can find work at all –
every day, Palestinians risk being murdered because they are Palestinian.
It does not matter whether they are young or old, a man or a woman,
Muslim or Christian – every day, Palestinians risk being murdered
because they are Palestinian. As it happens, Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old
Palestinian, was in Jenin yesterday morning when she was murdered. She
was there to do her job: reporting on how more Israeli soldiers were <raiding>
– a euphemism for terrorising – more Palestinians. She was wearing a
helmet and body armour marked <Press>. She was standing at a roundabout
with other Palestinian journalists when she was shot in the face. An Al
Jazeera producer, who survived, was shot in the back.Abu Akleh’s body
lay on the side of a road, next to a wall. Her colleagues screamed for
help as they pulled her away from a sniper’s crosshairs. Later, a car
arrived to ferry her to a nearby hospital. She died there. Alone.
Another day, another murdered Palestinian.
But, unlike so many other murdered Palestinians, including four boys who
were dismembered by an Israeli missile while playing football on a beach,
Abu Akleh was well-known. She was on TV. She was popular. She was
admired and respected because she told the truth about the cruelty
Palestinians suffer and endure every day. So, her murder, unlike the
murders of so many other Palestinians made news in Europe and North
America. I doubt her murder would have made much news in Europe and
North America save for one inconvenient fact: Abu Akleh was also an
American.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/12/some-truths-about-shireen-abu-aklehs-murder
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Sultan Barakat
Director of the Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha
Institute
<<Only the ICC can deliver justice for journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
The murder of the Al Jazeera journalist should be investigated by an
international body.
Israel, of course, immediately tried to distort the story, claiming that
Abu Akleh may have been killed by a Palestinian fighter shooting
aimlessly into the streets. Or that she may have been caught in
crossfire. Of course, we know that Abu Akleh did not get caught in
crossfire. Her killing was not a <mistake>. It was deliberate. It was an
assassination aimed at silencing Palestinian voices, intimidating
Palestinian journalists, and obscuring the truth. We know this not only
because the evidence is clear, but also because Abu Akleh’s murder
follows a well-known pattern. Indeed, the veteran Al Jazeera reporter
was hardly the first Palestinian journalist killed, injured or
intimidated by Israeli forces for the crime of reporting on the
Palestinian struggle. In 2018, Ahmed Abu Hussein and Yasser Mortaja were
fatally shot by Israeli snipers while covering the Great March of Return
protests. Muath Amarneh and Nedal Eshtayeh were maimed by Israeli sniper
fire in 2019 and 2015, respectively. Basil Faraj, Fadel Shana, Hussam
Salama, Imad Abu Zahra, Issam Tillawi, Khaled Reyadh Hamad, Mahmoud
al-Kumi, Mohamed Abu Halima and many other journalists also suffered at
the hands of the Israeli forces over the years. It was only last year
when Israeli air raids bombed buildings housing media organisations in
the Gaza Strip, including the 11-storey al-Jalaa building, which housed
Al Jazeera and The Associated Press offices. Israel has a
well-established history of targeting journalists and getting away with
it. But the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, a household name across the
Arab world, revered for her insight into the Palestinian story and
objectivity, can and should change this. Given the gravity of this
murder, immediate action must be taken to bring those responsible to
justice – not only the person whopulled the trigger but also the
authorities who paved the way for such an atrocity to be committed in
the first place. Delivering justice for Abu Akleh will not be easy. It
will require an international investigation and a commitment from the
global community to hold Israel to account for the crimes it commits not
only against journalists like Abu Akleh but all Palestinians. An
investigation into Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing that involves Israel in
any shape or form would not get us anywhere. Palestinians would,
rightfully, see such an investigation as nothing but a whitewashing
attempt. Israel, after all, has a long history of trying to legitimise
its abuse of and violence against Palestinians. And the Israeli
authorities’ relentless efforts to distort the truth and blame Abu
Akleh’s death on Palestinians clearly show that they have no intention
of accepting responsibility for the killing.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/13/only-the-icc-can-deliver-justice-for-shireen-abu-akleh
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
By Linah Alsaafin, Umut Uras, Zena Al Tahhan and Farah Najjar
<<Latest Abu Akleh killing updates: Palestine rejects Israeli probe
News from May 11: Palestine says it won’t accept a probe by ‘occupying
authority’ into Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing.
Calls for an independent investigation into the killing of veteran Al
Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh grow amid global outrage.
Abu Akleh has been shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied
West Bank. The 51-year-old was covering an Israeli army raid on the
Jenin refugee camp when she was shot in the face by a single bullet,
despite wearing a press vest. Another Palestinian journalist, Ali
al-Samoudi, was wounded in the back but is in a stable condition.
Al Jazeera, in a statement, said Abu Akleh was <assassinated in cold
blood> and called on the international community to hold Israeli forces
responsible.
....
US gov’t should investigate Abu Akleh’s killing: Rashida Tlaib
US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called on the American government to
investigate the killing of Abu Akleh, saying that Washington should not
allow <the same people committing those war crimes to do the
investigation,> referring to Israel. <We need to investigate, ourselves,
the killing of an American citizen. Somebody that was out there being a
guardian of truth and doing her job was murdered by an apartheid
government that we continue to fund with unconditional aid,> Tlaib told
Al Jazeera in a TV interview. Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists
Association pays tribute to Abu Akleh
The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) has called
for a <transparent and independent investigation into the actions that
led> to Abu Akleh’s killing, stressing that the perpetrators of the
shooting must be held accountable.
<Journalists around the globe are increasingly under attack,> the group
said in a statement. <Shireen’s death is a reminder of the dangers they
face in trying to expose the truth. Her courage and determination to
report the Palestinian story is a tribute to our profession.>
....
Hundreds protest against Abu Akleh’s killing in Haifa, Nazareth
Some 200 Palestinians have gathered to protest against the killing of
Abu Akleh in Haifa and Nazareth in the north, local media reported.
Waving Palestinian flags, they shouted slogans decrying the slain
journalist’s killing and held signs that read: <Shireen Abu Akleh’s
message will not fall.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/veteran-al-jazeera-journalist-killed-by-israeli-forces-live-news
The Guardian
13 May 2022
By Sufian Taha in Jerusalem
<<Israeli police attack funeral procession for shot journalist Shireen
Abu Aqleh. TV images show Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh’s coffin
falling as police grab Palestinian flags from crowd.
Israeli forces have attacked a funeral procession for a Palestinian
American journalist shot dead this week, kicking and hitting people with
batons and causing mourners carrying her coffin to lose balance and drop
it to the ground.Police said mourners were <disrupting public order>.
Footage showed the coffin of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh on
mourners’ shoulders outside St Joseph’s hospital in Israeli-annexed East
Jerusalem as police rushed in and attacked people, several of whom held
Palestinian flags. The sound of a stun grenade could be heard. Israel
forbids public displays of Palestinian flags and often prevents people
from hoisting them at rallies and protests in the city. A senior
Palestinian figure, Hanan Ashrawi, tweeted that <savage Israeli ‘special
forces’ viciously attack the funeral procession bearing the coffin> of
Abu Aqleh as it left St Joseph’s hospital. <The inhumanity [of] Israel
is on full display,> said the former Palestine Liberation Organisation
official.
Police said they had held talks with Abu Aqleh’s family in order to <enable
a respectable funeral. Unfortunately, under the auspices of the funeral
and taking cynical advantage of it, hundreds of people began disrupting
public order before [the funeral] even began. As the coffin was about to
exit the hospital, stones began to be thrown at officers from the
hospital’s plaza, and the officers were forced to use riot dispersal
means.> Police released a video in which an officer outside the hospital
grounds addresses the crowd. <If you don’t stop these chants and [Palestinian]
nationalistic songs we will have to disperse you using force and we
won’t let the funeral take place,> the officer says. Abu Aqleh’s coffin
left the hospital grounds by vehicle and arrived at a Jerusalem church
for her funeral. The 51-year-old reporter was shot in the head on
Wednesday morning in the West Bank city of Jenin during what her
colleagues at the scene said was a burst of Israeli fire on a small
group of journalists covering an expected Israeli military raid.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/13/israeli-forces-storm-jerusalem-hospital-as-coffin-of-slain-journalist-emerges
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Andrew Mitrovica
Opinion
Al Jazeera columnist
<<Some truths about Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder
She was not 'killed'. Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered.
She was shot in the face. Not in the arm or a leg. In the face. That is
not a <kill> shot. That is a murder shot.
Abu Akleh was shot in the face, on purpose, while doing what she has
been doing since 1997 for Al Jazeera: telling the truth. She was
murdered for telling, yet again, the truth about how Israel has
corralled, bludgeoned, “raided”, evicted, jailed, traumatised, tortured,
murdered, and terrorised Palestinian after Palestinian, day after day,
week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after
decade. Abu Akleh did her job well. She did it with grace, patience and
resilience despite the indignities, horrors and dangers. It was her duty,
obligation, and responsibility to bear witness. Every day, Palestinians
risk being murdered because they are Palestinian. It does not matter
where they live – in Gaza, Jerusalem or the West Bank – every day,
Palestinians risk being murdered because they are Palestinian. It does
not matter what they do for a living – if they can find work at all –
every day, Palestinians risk being murdered because they are Palestinian.
It does not matter whether they are young or old, a man or a woman,
Muslim or Christian – every day, Palestinians risk being murdered
because they are Palestinian. As it happens, Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old
Palestinian, was in Jenin yesterday morning when she was murdered. She
was there to do her job: reporting on how more Israeli soldiers were <raiding>
– a euphemism for terrorising – more Palestinians. She was wearing a
helmet and body armour marked <Press>. She was standing at a roundabout
with other Palestinian journalists when she was shot in the face. An Al
Jazeera producer, who survived, was shot in the back.Abu Akleh’s body
lay on the side of a road, next to a wall. Her colleagues screamed for
help as they pulled her away from a sniper’s crosshairs. Later, a car
arrived to ferry her to a nearby hospital. She died there. Alone.
Another day, another murdered Palestinian.
But, unlike so many other murdered Palestinians, including four boys who
were dismembered by an Israeli missile while playing football on a beach,
Abu Akleh was well-known. She was on TV. She was popular. She was
admired and respected because she told the truth about the cruelty
Palestinians suffer and endure every day. So, her murder, unlike the
murders of so many other Palestinians made news in Europe and North
America. I doubt her murder would have made much news in Europe and
North America save for one inconvenient fact: Abu Akleh was also an
American.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/12/some-truths-about-shireen-abu-aklehs-murder
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Sultan Barakat
Director of the Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha
Institute
<<Only the ICC can deliver justice for journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
The murder of the Al Jazeera journalist should be investigated by an
international body.
Israel, of course, immediately tried to distort the story, claiming that
Abu Akleh may have been killed by a Palestinian fighter shooting
aimlessly into the streets. Or that she may have been caught in
crossfire. Of course, we know that Abu Akleh did not get caught in
crossfire. Her killing was not a <mistake>. It was deliberate. It was an
assassination aimed at silencing Palestinian voices, intimidating
Palestinian journalists, and obscuring the truth. We know this not only
because the evidence is clear, but also because Abu Akleh’s murder
follows a well-known pattern. Indeed, the veteran Al Jazeera reporter
was hardly the first Palestinian journalist killed, injured or
intimidated by Israeli forces for the crime of reporting on the
Palestinian struggle. In 2018, Ahmed Abu Hussein and Yasser Mortaja were
fatally shot by Israeli snipers while covering the Great March of Return
protests. Muath Amarneh and Nedal Eshtayeh were maimed by Israeli sniper
fire in 2019 and 2015, respectively. Basil Faraj, Fadel Shana, Hussam
Salama, Imad Abu Zahra, Issam Tillawi, Khaled Reyadh Hamad, Mahmoud al-Kumi,
Mohamed Abu Halima and many other journalists also suffered at the hands
of the Israeli forces over the years. It was only last year when Israeli
air raids bombed buildings housing media organisations in the Gaza
Strip, including the 11-storey al-Jalaa building, which housed Al
Jazeera and The Associated Press offices. Israel has a well-established
history of targeting journalists and getting away with it. But the
murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, a household name across the Arab world,
revered for her insight into the Palestinian story and objectivity, can
and should change this. Given the gravity of this murder, immediate
action must be taken to bring those responsible to justice – not only
the person whopulled the trigger but also the authorities who paved the
way for such an atrocity to be committed in the first place. Delivering
justice for Abu Akleh will not be easy. It will require an international
investigation and a commitment from the global community to hold Israel
to account for the crimes it commits not only against journalists like
Abu Akleh but all Palestinians. An investigation into Shireen Abu
Akleh’s killing that involves Israel in any shape or form would not get
us anywhere. Palestinians would, rightfully, see such an investigation
as nothing but a whitewashing attempt. Israel, after all, has a long
history of trying to legitimise its abuse of and violence against
Palestinians. And the Israeli authorities’ relentless efforts to distort
the truth and blame Abu Akleh’s death on Palestinians clearly show that
they have no intention of accepting responsibility for the killing.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/13/only-the-icc-can-deliver-justice-for-shireen-abu-akleh
Sky News
13 May 2022
By Alistair Bunkall
Middle East correspondent
<<Shireen Abu Akleh: Israeli security forces attack mourners at Al
Jazeera journalist's funeral causing them to almost drop coffin
Thousands of people gathered for a memorial service on Thursday while
her body was carried through the streets of Jerusalem - with the
bulletproof vest she was wearing when she was shot on top of the coffin.
Israeli police have fired tear gas and attempted to arrest mourners at
the funeral in Jerusalem of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who
was shot dead whilst covering a raid. Ms Abu Akleh, 51, was reporting on
an Israeli raid in the city of Jenin on Wed-nesday when she was shot in
the head whilst wearing a press vest.
Tear gas was fired outside the hospital where her body was being held in
east Jerusalem, and a shrine destroyed. An hour later, Israeli police
arrested mourners chanting outside the Catholic church in Jerusalem's
old city. On Thursday, thousands of people gathered for a memorial
service while her body was carried through the streets - with the
bulletproof vest on top of the coffin. At one point Israeli police even
attacked the pallbearers, causing the coffin to slip and nearly crash to
the ground.>>
Read more here:
https://news.sky.com/story/shireen-abu-akleh-israeli-security-forces-arrest-mourners-at-funeral-of-al-jazeera-journalist-shot-dead-in-west-bank-12612091
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Andrew Mitrovica
Opinion
Al Jazeera columnist
<<Some truths about Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder
She was not 'killed'. Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered.
She was shot in the face. Not in the arm or a leg. In the face. That is
not a <kill> shot. That is a murder shot.
Abu Akleh was shot in the face, on purpose, while doing what she has
been doing since 1997 for Al Jazeera: telling the truth. She was
murdered for telling, yet again, the truth about how Israel has
corralled, bludgeoned, <raided>, evicted, jailed, traumatised, tortured,
murdered, and terrorised Palestinian after Palestinian, day after day,
week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after
decade. Abu Akleh did her job well. She did it with grace, patience and
resilience despite the indignities, horrors and dangers. It was her
duty, obligation, and responsibility to bear witness. Every day,
Palestinians risk being murdered because they are Palestinian. It does
not matter where they live – in Gaza, Jerusalem or the West Bank – every
day, Palestinians risk being murdered because they are Palestinian. It
does not matter what they do for a living – if they can find work at all
– every day, Palestinians risk being murdered because they are
Palestinian. It does not matter whether they are young or old, a man or
a woman, Muslim or Christian – every day, Palestinians risk being
murdered because they are Palestinian. As it happens, Abu Akleh, a
51-year-old Palestinian, was in Jenin yesterday morning when she was
murdered. She was there to do her job: reporting on how more Israeli
soldiers were <raiding> – a euphemism for terrorising – more
Palestinians. She was wearing a helmet and body armour marked <Press>.
She was standing at a roundabout with other Palestinian journalists when
she was shot in the face. An Al Jazeera producer, who survived, was shot
in the back.Abu Akleh’s body lay on the side of a road, next to a wall.
Her colleagues screamed for help as they pulled her away from a sniper’s
crosshairs. Later, a car arrived to ferry her to a nearby hospital. She
died there. Alone.
Another day, another murdered Palestinian.
But, unlike so many other murdered Palestinians, including four boys who
were dismembered by an Israeli missile while playing football on a
beach, Abu Akleh was well-known. She was on TV. She was popular. She was
admired and respected because she told the truth about the cruelty
Palestinians suffer and endure every day. So, her murder, unlike the
murders of so many other Palestinians made news in Europe and North
America. I doubt her murder would have made much news in Europe and
North America save for one inconvenient fact: Abu Akleh was also an
American.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/12/some-truths-about-shireen-abu-aklehs-murder
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Sultan Barakat
Director of the Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha
Institute
<<Only the ICC can deliver justice for journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
The murder of the Al Jazeera journalist should be investigated by an
international body.
Israel, of course, immediately tried to distort the story, claiming that
Abu Akleh may have been killed by a Palestinian fighter shooting
aimlessly into the streets. Or that she may have been caught in
crossfire. Of course, we know that Abu Akleh did not get caught in
crossfire. Her killing was not a <mistake>. It was deliberate. It was an
assassination aimed at silencing Palestinian voices, intimidating
Palestinian journalists, and obscuring the truth. We know this not only
because the evidence is clear, but also because Abu Akleh’s murder
follows a well-known pattern. Indeed, the veteran Al Jazeera reporter
was hardly the first Palestinian journalist killed, injured or
intimidated by Israeli forces for the crime of reporting on the
Palestinian struggle. In 2018, Ahmed Abu Hussein and Yasser Mortaja were
fatally shot by Israeli snipers while covering the Great March of Return
protests. Muath Amarneh and Nedal Eshtayeh were maimed by Israeli sniper
fire in 2019 and 2015, respectively. Basil Faraj, Fadel Shana, Hussam
Salama, Imad Abu Zahra, Issam Tillawi, Khaled Reyadh Hamad, Mahmoud al-Kumi,
Mohamed Abu Halima and many other journalists also suffered at the hands
of the Israeli forces over the years. It was only last year when Israeli
air raids bombed buildings housing media organisations in the Gaza
Strip, including the 11-storey al-Jalaa building, which housed Al
Jazeera and The Associated Press offices. Israel has a well-established
history of targeting journalists and getting away with it. But the
murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, a household name across the Arab world,
revered for her insight into the Palestinian story and objectivity, can
and should change this. Given the gravity of this murder, immediate
action must be taken to bring those responsible to justice – not only
the person whopulled the trigger but also the authorities who paved the
way for such an atrocity to be committed in the first place. Delivering
justice for Abu Akleh will not be easy. It will require an international
investigation and a commitment from the global community to hold Israel
to account for the crimes it commits not only against journalists like
Abu Akleh but all Palestinians. An investigation into Shireen Abu
Akleh’s killing that involves Israel in any shape or form would not get
us anywhere. Palestinians would, rightfully, see such an investigation
as nothing but a whitewashing attempt. Israel, after all, has a long
history of trying to legitimise its abuse of and violence against
Palestinians. And the Israeli authorities’ relentless efforts to distort
the truth and blame Abu Akleh’s death on Palestinians clearly show that
they have no intention of accepting responsibility for the killing.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/13/only-the-icc-can-deliver-justice-for-shireen-abu-akleh
CBS NEWS
12 May 2022
<<Israel admits security forces may have killed Palestinian-American Al
Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Ramallah, Palestinian Territories — Palestinians planned a memorial
service Thursday for journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was killed while
covering an Israeli raid in the West Bank, but have rejected U.S.-led
calls for a joint investigation into her death. Palestinian-American Abu
Akleh, 51, a veteran of Qatar-based Al Jazeera's Arabic TV service, was
shot in the head during clashes in the Jenin refugee camp, a major
flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's Defence
Minister Benny Gantz conceded late Wednesday that it could have been
<the Palestinians who shot her> or fire from <our side> — appearing to
walk back Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's remarks that she was <likely>
killed by stray Palestinian gunfire. <We are not certain how she was
killed but we want to get to the bottom of this incident and to uncover
the truth as much as we can,> Gantz told reporters. >>
Read more here:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shireen-abu-akleh-israel-security-forces/
Opinion by Gino d'Artali: One day the truth will emerge and I personaly
believe she was killed by an israeli sniper.
The Guardian
12 May 2022
By Bethan McKernan in Ramallah and Sufian Taha in Jenin
<<Shireen Abu Aqleh: thousands attend state memorial in West Bank.
Shireen Abu Aqleh, the Palestinian American journalist shot dead during
an Israeli army operation, has been honoured with a full state memorial
in the West Bank city of Ramallah. At least 5,000 people lined the
streets on Thursday as her coffin, draped in the Palestinian flag, was
driven through the city and the Qalandia checkpoint en route to St
Joseph hospital nearer her home in occupied East Jerusalem. Her funeral
will be held in the holy city on Friday. Attenders brought wreaths of
flowers and waved Palestinian flags as the ambulance carrying her body
passed by, escorted by a dozen masked gunmen belonging to the
Palestinian Fatah movement. Some people threw rose petals while the
militants fired into the air, accompanied by chants of <From Ramallah to
Jenin, God have mercy on you, Shireen> and <The true voice never dies>.
The 51-year-old reporter was shot in the head on Wednesday morning in
the West Bank city of Jenin during what her colleagues at the scene said
was a surprise burst of Israeli fire on a small group of journalists
covering an expected Israeli military raid. Video of the incident shows
Abu Aqleh was wearing a helmet and body armour clearly marked <press>.
Ali Samodi, a producer for Al Jazeera who was shot in the back, told the
Guardian from his hospital bed that contrary to claims made by Israeli
officials, there were no gunmen standing near the journalists when they
were targeted. <There were no fighters around, no civilians, nothing.
Just the Israeli soldiers and the press. There were many bullets. After
I was hit and Shireen was killed, they just kept shooting,> he said.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/12/shireen-abu-aqleh-thousands-attend-state-memorial-in-west-bank
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Andrew Mitrovica
Opinion
Al Jazeera columnist
<<Some truths about Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder
She was not 'killed'. Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered.
She was shot in the face. Not in the arm or a leg. In the face. That is
not a <kill> shot. That is a murder shot.
Abu Akleh was shot in the face, on purpose, while doing what she has
been doing since 1997 for Al Jazeera: telling the truth. She was
murdered for telling, yet again, the truth about how Israel has
corralled, bludgeoned, <raided>, evicted, jailed, traumatised, tortured,
murdered, and terrorised Palestinian after Palestinian, day after day,
week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after
decade. Abu Akleh did her job well. She did it with grace, patience and
resilience despite the indignities, horrors and dangers. It was her
duty, obligation, and responsibility to bear witness. Every day,
Palestinians risk being murdered because they are Palestinian. It does
not matter where they live – in Gaza, Jerusalem or the West Bank – every
day, Palestinians risk being murdered because they are Palestinian. It
does not matter what they do for a living – if they can find work at all
– every day, Palestinians risk being murdered because they are
Palestinian. It does not matter whether they are young or old, a man or
a woman, Muslim or Christian – every day, Palestinians risk being
murdered because they are Palestinian. As it happens, Abu Akleh, a
51-year-old Palestinian, was in Jenin yesterday morning when she was
murdered. She was there to do her job: reporting on how more Israeli
soldiers were <raiding> – a euphemism for terrorising – more
Palestinians. She was wearing a helmet and body armour marked <Press>.
She was standing at a roundabout with other Palestinian journalists when
she was shot in the face. An Al Jazeera producer, who survived, was shot
in the back.Abu Akleh’s body lay on the side of a road, next to a wall.
Her colleagues screamed for help as they pulled her away from a sniper’s
crosshairs. Later, a car arrived to ferry her to a nearby hospital. She
died there. Alone.
Another day, another murdered Palestinian.
But, unlike so many other murdered Palestinians, including four boys who
were dismembered by an Israeli missile while playing football on a
beach, Abu Akleh was well-known. She was on TV. She was popular. She was
admired and respected because she told the truth about the cruelty
Palestinians suffer and endure every day. So, her murder, unlike the
murders of so many other Palestinians made news in Europe and North
America. I doubt her murder would have made much news in Europe and
North America save for one inconvenient fact: Abu Akleh was also an
American.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/12/some-truths-about-shireen-abu-aklehs-murder
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Sultan Barakat
Director of the Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha
Institute
<<Only the ICC can deliver justice for journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
The murder of the Al Jazeera journalist should be investigated by an
international body.
Israel, of course, immediately tried to distort the story, claiming that
Abu Akleh may have been killed by a Palestinian fighter shooting
aimlessly into the streets. Or that she may have been caught in
crossfire. Of course, we know that Abu Akleh did not get caught in
crossfire. Her killing was not a <mistake>. It was deliberate. It was an
assassination aimed at silencing Palestinian voices, intimidating
Palestinian journalists, and obscuring the truth. We know this not only
because the evidence is clear, but also because Abu Akleh’s murder
follows a well-known pattern. Indeed, the veteran Al Jazeera reporter
was hardly the first Palestinian journalist killed, injured or
intimidated by Israeli forces for the crime of reporting on the
Palestinian struggle. In 2018, Ahmed Abu Hussein and Yasser Mortaja were
fatally shot by Israeli snipers while covering the Great March of Return
protests. Muath Amarneh and Nedal Eshtayeh were maimed by Israeli sniper
fire in 2019 and 2015, respectively. Basil Faraj, Fadel Shana, Hussam
Salama, Imad Abu Zahra, Issam Tillawi, Khaled Reyadh Hamad, Mahmoud al-Kumi,
Mohamed Abu Halima and many other journalists also suffered at the hands
of the Israeli forces over the years. It was only last year when Israeli
air raids bombed buildings housing media organisations in the Gaza
Strip, including the 11-storey al-Jalaa building, which housed Al
Jazeera and The Associated Press offices. Israel has a well-established
history of targeting journalists and getting away with it. But the
murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, a household name across the Arab world,
revered for her insight into the Palestinian story and objectivity, can
and should change this. Given the gravity of this murder, immediate
action must be taken to bring those responsible to justice – not only
the person whopulled the trigger but also the authorities who paved the
way for such an atrocity to be committed in the first place. Delivering
justice for Abu Akleh will not be easy. It will require an international
investigation and a commitment from the global community to hold Israel
to account for the crimes it commits not only against journalists like
Abu Akleh but all Palestinians. An investigation into Shireen Abu
Akleh’s killing that involves Israel in any shape or form would not get
us anywhere. Palestinians would, rightfully, see such an investigation
as nothing but a whitewashing attempt. Israel, after all, has a long
history of trying to legitimise its abuse of and violence against
Palestinians. And the Israeli authorities’ relentless efforts to distort
the truth and blame Abu Akleh’s death on Palestinians clearly show that
they have no intention of accepting responsibility for the killing.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/13/only-the-icc-can-deliver-justice-for-shireen-abu-akleh
Al Jazeera
12 May 2022
By Umut Aras
<<Western media slammed for coverage of Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing.
Media outlets ignored Israel’s role in Abu Akleh’s death, according to
social media users and commentators.
The killing of Al Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank
has created an uproar as commentators and social media users criticise
Western media outlets for <whitewashed> reporting that appeared to shy
away from mentioning that Israeli forces had killed the seasoned
reporter. Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who worked for Al
Jazeera’s Arabic television channel, was hit by an Israeli live bullet
on Wednesday morning, according to witnesses, as she covered an Israeli
military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The news shocked
Palestinians, for whom Abu Akleh has been a constant presence on Al
Jazeera for 25 years. But, despite showing respect for Abu Akleh’s
career, many media organisations were careful to avoid implicating
Israel in the killing, despite assertions by Al Jazeera and witnesses
who were with her that Abu Akleh had been killed by Israeli forces. As
Western media began reporting the story, social media users criticised
organisations for, as one Twitter user says, their <unbelievable>
coverage of the story. Beth Miller, the political director of Jewish
Voice for Peace, slammed the New York Times for a headline that said Abu
Akleh <dies at 51>, without mentioning the cause of her death. <Shireen
Abu Akleh was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper while reporting on an
Israeli military raid of a refugee camp,> she tweeted. <'Dies at 51’.
Unbelievable, NYT.> Referencing the same headline, Bassam Khawaja, the
co-director of NYU Law’s Human Rights and Privatization Project,
tweeted: <‘Dies at 51’ is a really strange way to say a journalist was
shot in the head.> The New York Times also released a correction for
<misstating> Al Jazeera’s statement on Abu Akleh’s killing, after
initially reporting incorrectly that Al Jazeera had said Abu Akleh was
killed in <clashes>.
The Israeli ‘narrative’
The Associated Press was also criticised for its reporting. <AP
reporting that the iconic Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh ‘was
killed by gunfire’ is unethical journalism,> a Twitter account which
uses the handle AimRabie, tweeted. <She ‘was [not] killed’ by aliens,
she was killed by Israeli forces. There should be repercussions for
propagating ‘alternative facts’ about basic truths.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/12/unbelievable-western-media-slammed-for-akleh-killing-coverage
Opinion by Gino d'Artali: It is a known truth that the US, after WW2,
'sold' out Palestinian, which they called 'Palestina', sold out to the
Jews to 'find their own country' .
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
By Linah Alsaafin, Umut Uras, Zena Al Tahhan and Farah Najjar
<<Latest Abu Akleh killing updates: Palestine rejects Israeli probe
News from May 11: Palestine says it won’t accept a probe by ‘occupying
authority’ into Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing.
Calls for an independent investigation into the killing of veteran Al
Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh grow amid global outrage.
Abu Akleh has been shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied
West Bank. The 51-year-old was covering an Israeli army raid on the
Jenin refugee camp when she was shot in the face by a single bullet,
despite wearing a press vest. Another Palestinian journalist, Ali al-Samoudi,
was wounded in the back but is in a stable condition.
Al Jazeera, in a statement, said Abu Akleh was <assassinated in cold
blood> and called on the international community to hold Israeli forces
responsible.
....
US gov’t should investigate Abu Akleh’s killing: Rashida Tlaib
US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called on the American government to
investigate the killing of Abu Akleh, saying that Washington should not
allow <the same people committing those war crimes to do the
investigation,> referring to Israel. <We need to investigate, ourselves,
the killing of an American citizen. Somebody that was out there being a
guardian of truth and doing her job was murdered by an apartheid
government that we continue to fund with unconditional aid,> Tlaib told
Al Jazeera in a TV interview. Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists
Association pays tribute to Abu Akleh
The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) has called
for a <transparent and independent investigation into the actions that
led> to Abu Akleh’s killing, stressing that the perpetrators of the
shooting must be held accountable.
<Journalists around the globe are increasingly under attack,> the group
said in a statement. <Shireen’s death is a reminder of the dangers they
face in trying to expose the truth. Her courage and determination to
report the Palestinian story is a tribute to our profession.>
....
Hundreds protest against Abu Akleh’s killing in Haifa, Nazareth
Some 200 Palestinians have gathered to protest against the killing of
Abu Akleh in Haifa and Nazareth in the north, local media reported.
Waving Palestinian flags, they shouted slogans decrying the slain
journalist’s killing and held signs that read: <Shireen Abu Akleh’s
message will not fall.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/veteran-al-jazeera-journalist-killed-by-israeli-forces-live-news
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
By Al Jazeera staff
<<Shireen Abu Akleh: A trailblazer who gave voice to Palestinians.
Al Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh was a brave and kind journalist with an
infectious laugh who was devoted to telling stories about ordinary
Palestinians.
Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist killed by
Israeli forces on Wednesday, was a veteran television correspondent who
became a household name across the Arab world for her bold coverage of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A native of Jerusalem and a citizen of
the United States, Abu Akleh, 51, is survived by her brother, Tony Abu
Akleh. Friends and colleagues described Abu Akleh as a brave and kind
reporter with an <infectious laugh> who gave voice to the struggles of
Palestinians over a career spanning nearly three decades. <Our loss is
so huge,> said Nida Ibrahim, an Al Jazeera correspondent and colleague
of Abu Akleh’s in the occupied West Bank. <She was kind, dedicated and
devoted. She knew the story through and through and she understood the
nuances. She brought a wealth of information to her reporting.> Speaking
through tears, Ibrahim described Abu Akleh as a <unique> human being who
was <very well known, but modest> and committed to her profession. At
the time of her death, Abu Akleh had been learning Hebrew in order to
understand Israeli media narratives better, and had just finished a
diploma in digital media, Ibrahim said. <She’s not only someone who was
a veteran, who’s been here covering the story for years, but also
someone who was eager to keep learning and keep reporting using new
means.>
‘An inspiration for us all’
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/al-jazeeras-shireen-abu-akleh
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
By Ali Harb
<<Shireen Abu Akleh: US activists slam ‘impunity’ for Israeli abuse.
Advocates say US should not allow Israel to investigate itself for
killing of second American citizen this year.
Washington, DC – The US Department of State often says that it <has no
higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad>. But
on Wednesday morning, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh became the
second American this year to be killed by Israel – a top recipient of US
military aid and Washington’s closest ally in the region. Department of
State spokesperson Ned Price was quick to condemn the killing and call
for an investigation, but later in the day, he confirmed that Washington
trusts Israel to investigate itself and would not call for an
independent probe.
Ahmad Abuznaid, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian
Rights, said calls for investigations are <empty gestures> if the probe
is to be left for Israel. <You can’t ask the Israelis to investigate
themselves when they’ve been abusing human rights for over 70 years and
expect them to arrive at a different result that they’ve been arriving
at after all these decades,> Abuznaid told Al Jazeera. <These are
atrocities that the international community has witnessed time and time
again – whether recorded on live footage or not – and we have never seen
accountability.> On Wednesday, Price said repeatedly when pressed by
reporters at a State Department briefing that Israel has the
<wherewithal and the capabilities to conduct a thorough, comprehensive
investigation> into the killing of Abu Akleh. He said it is important
for Washington for Abu Akleh’s legacy to be honoured with
accountability. <Those responsible for Shireen’s killing should be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,> Price told reporters.
But recent incidents show that when Israel carries out investigations
into its own forces’ misconduct, meaningful accountability is seldom the
outcome, Palestinian rights advocates have said. Despite multiple
eyewitness testimonies saying she was shot by Israeli forces, the
Israeli government’s initial reaction to the killing of Abu Akleh was to
blame <armed Palestinians> for shooting the journalist.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/shireen-abu-akleh-us-activists-slam-impunity-for-israeli-abuse
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
<<Calls grow for independent investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing
The UN calls for ‘independent investigation’ after Al Jazeera says
Shireen Abu Akleh was ‘assassinated in cold blood’.
Calls have grown for an independent and impartial investigation into the
killing of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot
dead as she covered an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank. The
Qatar-based TV channel said in a statement on Wednesday that Abu Akleh,
51, was “assassinated in cold blood” by <the Israeli occupation forces>.
Another Al Jazeera journalist, producer Ali al-Samudi, was wounded in
the incident in which both wore helmets and vests marked “Press”. He
later said no Palestinian fighters were nearby, stressing that otherwise
<we would not have gone into the area>. Majid Awais, a witness, told AFP
that Abu Akleh <turned in panic> when she saw her colleague al-Samudi
was shot, and that she was struck by the fatal bullet moments later. Her
death put the spotlight on Israeli attacks on Palestinian journalists
and came nearly a year after an Israeli air strike destroyed a building
that housed the offices of Al Jazeera and The Associated Press news
agency in Gaza.
‘Thorough and independent’
The Palestinian Authority said it held Israel <responsible> for the
killing of Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American, who was hit by a bullet in
the head during the Israeli operation in the Jenin refugee camp. The
Hamas movement, which governs the besieged Gaza Strip, condemned the
killing “in the strongest terms,” calling it an <assassination>. UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was <appalled> by the
incident and called for an “independent and transparent investigation”
into the shooting to “ensure that those responsible are held
accountable>. <The Secretary-General condemns all attacks and killings
of journalists and stresses that journalists must never be the target of
violence. Media workers should be able to carry out their work freely
and without harassment, intimidation or the fear of being targeted,> he
said in a statement issued via his spokesperson on Wednesday. The
European Union also called for an <independent> investigation into Abu
Akleh’s death, while the office of the UN human rights chief Michelle
Bachelet said it was <appalled> and urged for a probe too. Meanwhile,
the United States envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called for
the killing to be <transparently investigated>. Commenting on the
developments, former Al Jazeera English journalist Ayman Mohideen, who
worked closely with Abu Akleh while reporting from Jerusalem and the
occupied West Bank, said the US government should push for an
independent investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh, who was also a
US citizen.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/calls-grow-for-independent-investigation-into-aklehs-death
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
By Linah Alsaafin, Umut Uras, Zena Al Tahhan and Farah Najjar
<<Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has been shot and
killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
The 51-year-old was covering an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee
camp when she was shot in the face by a single bullet, despite wearing a
press vest.
Another Palestinian journalist, Ali al-Samoudi, was wounded in the back
but is in stable condition.
Al Jazeera, in a statement, said Abu Akleh was <assassinated in cold
blood> and called on the international community to hold Israeli forces
responsible.>>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/veteran-al-jazeera-journalist-killed-by-israeli-forces-live-news
and
Watch the video 'She was fearless, but she was also human'
here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtmbJZL0kN4
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
By Al Jazeera Staff
<<‘Our voice’: Friends react to Al Jazeera journalist’s killing
Shireen Abu Akleh – who was killed by Israeli forces while reporting –
was a role model, colleagues and friends say.
Al Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American
native of Jerusalem, was on assignment in the occupied West Bank when
Israeli forces shot and killed her while wearing a blue flak jacket
clearly marked with the word <PRESS>. The veteran journalist, who was
shot in the head, was a role model for generations of Arab journalists
and a voice for the voiceless according to her colleagues and friends,
having reported on Palestine and the surrounding region for three
decades.
Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar
Jarrar said that Abu Akleh was the voice of Palestinians and was killed
by <the monstrosity of Israeli colonialism and occupation>.
<Shireen was always my voice from the prison cells,> she said, adding
that a month into her last detention by Israel, Shireen was the first
person she saw at her court hearings.
<Shireen was our voice. It is unbelievable. It is a crime, it is all
clear – intentional and direct targeting. She was targeted. It’s clear.>
Tamer Mishal, Al Jazeera journalist
Al Jazeera journalist Tamer Mishal said Abu Akleh was a role model <for
every Palestinian journalist and for every Arab journalist>.
<Till the very last second, Shireen Abu Akleh was professional and
persevering,> he added. The last message Abu Akleh sent to Al Jazeera
was an email at 6:13am local time (03:13 GMT) in which she wrote:
<Occupation forces storm Jenin and besiege a house in the Jabriyat
neighbourhood. On the way there, I will bring you news as soon as the
picture becomes clear.>
Walid al-Omari, manager of Al Jazeera office in Ramallah
Al-Omari said that at the time of Abu Akleh’s killing, there were no
confrontations between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters.
<It seems that she was targeted even though she was in her journalist
vest; she was not known to have biases towards certain parties that
would make her a clear target, and she covered the truth and the whole
truth,> he said.
Note from Gino d'Artali:
3 more colleagues and friends come to word in the article.
Read all here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/friends-colleagues-react-to-al-jazeera-journalists-killing
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
By Linah Alsaafin, Umut Uras, Zena Al Tahhan and Farah Najjar
<<Latest Abu Akleh killing updates: Palestine rejects Israeli probe
News from May 11: Palestine says it won’t accept a probe by ‘occupying
authority’ into Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing.
Calls for an independent investigation into the killing of veteran Al
Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh grow amid global outrage.
Abu Akleh has been shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied
West Bank. The 51-year-old was covering an Israeli army raid on the
Jenin refugee camp when she was shot in the face by a single bullet,
despite wearing a press vest. Another Palestinian journalist, Ali al-Samoudi,
was wounded in the back but is in a stable condition.
Al Jazeera, in a statement, said Abu Akleh was <assassinated in cold
blood> and called on the international community to hold Israeli forces
responsible.
....
US gov’t should investigate Abu Akleh’s killing: Rashida Tlaib
US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called on the American government to
investigate the killing of Abu Akleh, saying that Washington should not
allow <the same people committing those war crimes to do the
investigation,> referring to Israel. <We need to investigate, ourselves,
the killing of an American citizen. Somebody that was out there being a
guardian of truth and doing her job was murdered by an apartheid
government that we continue to fund with unconditional aid,> Tlaib told
Al Jazeera in a TV interview. Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists
Association pays tribute to Abu Akleh
The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) has called
for a <transparent and independent investigation into the actions that
led> to Abu Akleh’s killing, stressing that the perpetrators of the
shooting must be held accountable.
<Journalists around the globe are increasingly under attack,> the group
said in a statement. <Shireen’s death is a reminder of the dangers they
face in trying to expose the truth. Her courage and determination to
report the Palestinian story is a tribute to our profession.>
....
Hundreds protest against Abu Akleh’s killing in Haifa, Nazareth
Some 200 Palestinians have gathered to protest against the killing of
Abu Akleh in Haifa and Nazareth in the north, local media reported.
Waving Palestinian flags, they shouted slogans decrying the slain
journalist’s killing and held signs that read: <Shireen Abu Akleh’s
message will not fall.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/veteran-al-jazeera-journalist-killed-by-israeli-forces-live-news
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
By Al Jazeera Staff
<<The killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli
forces in the occupied West Bank has cast a spotlight on the high rate
of Israeli attacks against media workers, particularly Palestinians, and
the relative impunity under which they operate, according to local
journalists, advocates and rights groups. Abu Akleh, 51, was fatally
shot in the head on Wednesday while covering Israeli raids in the city
of Jenin. Palestinian authorities said the veteran journalist was shot
by Israeli forces. Israel offered to conduct a joint investigation with
Palestinian authorities, but its military has sought to cast doubt on
who was responsible, saying Abu Akleh was shot during an exchange of
gunfire and may have been killed by Palestinian gunmen. Palestinian
authorities have rejected a joint investigation. Journalists on the
scene, including Shatha Hanaysha, who was also wounded in the incident,
have rejected that narrative, saying Abu Akleh was in an <exposed area>
with three other journalists when they were fired upon and that <there
were no confrontations or shots being fired by Palestinian fighters>.
Journalists and advocates said the early version of events from the
Israeli military indicates that it is unlikely its forces will be held
accountable for the killing. <I would say I have little to no confidence
[in the investigation],> Yumna Patel, director of Palestine news for
Mondoweiss, told Al Jazeera. <Time and time again. It has been shown
that Israeli forces kill Palestinians, including Palestinian
journalists, without cause in the occupied territories and it’s very
extremely rare that Israeli soldiers, captains or military officials are
ever held accountable for their actions,> she said. Speaking to Al
Jazeera on Wednesday, Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director for
Human Rights Watch, said the organisation is looking into the killing of
Abu Akleh, but decried Israeli investigations <as whitewashed
mechanisms>. <That is the assessment that’s been reached by human rights
organisations including Israeli’s premier human rights organization
B’Tselem. Human Rights Watch has a similar diagnosis,> he said. <The
reality is there is no accountability for those sorts of abuses when it
comes to actions by the Israeli authorities>. Speaking to Al Jazeera,
the Palestinian writer Jalal Abukhater said that he did not expect
justice for Abu Akleh, as numerous Palestinian journalists had been
killed before. <Shireen is not the first, and unfortunately won’t be the
last Palestinian to be killed by this Israeli occupation regime, [this]
Israeli apartheid regime,> said Abukhater. <Just last year, Israel
bombed the offices of Al Jazeera and Associated Press. I don’t think
this will be the end of Israeli attacks on journalists. This won’t be
the last attack on journalism in Palestine. They will do whatever they
can to cover up those who expose their crimes, … [I am] sad that Shireen,
our idol, is the latest victim of this Israeli aggression.> >>
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/al-jazeera-journalists-killing-spotlights-israeli-media-attacks
Al Jazeera
11 May 2022
Opinions
By Marwan Bishara
Senior political analyst at Al Jazeera
<<Shireen: Voice of the voiceless victims silenced. Today, we mourn her,
tomorrow we scorn her killers.
I am not ready to speak about Shireen in the past tense. Not today.
Perhaps not ever. Shireen has covered the cruelty of the Israeli
occupation for decades, only to be the victim of its utter bloody
madness; madness she spent a lifetime exposing. Ms Abu Akleh is a
household name in the Arab world. Faraway but omnipresent in countless
homes from Rabat to Riyadh. A seasoned journalist, she has been that
brave voice from Palestine echoing through the world. Where seasonal
reporters come and go, she has been there day in day out, year after
year, face to face with the occupiers of her homeland, giving a voice to
voiceless Palestinians. Shireen has had that steady voice – a soothing,
credible voice. Always calm, cool and collected even when faced with the
most horrific circumstances and bloodiest scenes.
Which is more often than is imaginable, alas.
There is something modest but magical about the way she has strolled
down the streets of Palestine and gone through the alleys of its refugee
camps, talking to the world with such eloquence; such clarity and
confidence.Always factual and objective. And yes, always measured. Never
losing her nerves.
Astounding.
A war journalist, she nonetheless has a charitable aura about her.
Incredibly humane in the midst of an inhumane setting. She is a
passionate reporter, where her passion reflects an enviable mélange of
love and pain for her suffering homeland.
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/11/shireen-abu-akleh-the-killing-of-kindness
Le Monde
By Louis Imbert (Jerusalem (Israel), correspondent)
11 May 2022
<<West Bank: Israeli army accused of killing Al-Jazeera journalist
Shireen Abu Akleh, the face of Palestine on the Al-Jazeera channel, was
covering a military raid in the Jenin refugee camp when she was hit by
gunfire from Israeli positions, according to witnesses on the ground.
For more than two decades, Shireen Abu Akleh has been the face of
Palestine on the Arab world's leading TV station, the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera.
Palestinians under 30 grew up following the day-to-day chronicles of the
second Intifada (2000-2005) by this discreet, courteous and pugnacious
journalist. She had covered the low-key death of the Oslo peace process
and the daily life of the endless occupation of the territories by the
Israeli army, in force since the 1967 conquest. She was killed in Jenin
on Wednesday, May 11, by Israeli fire, according to witnesses, the
Palestinian Ministry of Health and her employer. She was covering a raid
by the Israeli army in the refugee camp of this large city in the
northern West Bank.
Al-Jazeera condemned a <cold-blooded> murder, a <heinous crime that aims
to prevent the media from doing their job.> The Qatari authorities
specify that she was hit by a bullet <in the face.> Transported to a
hospital in critical condition, she succumbed to her injury. In an
initial statement, Israeli forces said they were exploring<the
possibility that the journalists [were] hit by Palestinian gunmen,>
without mentioning their possible responsibility. On army radio, an
Israeli officer, Ran Kochav, said that the two journalists were standing
near armed Palestinians, <amateurs, terrorists, who were shooting at our
troops.>
Concurrent testimonies
An Al-Jazeera producer, Ali Al-Samodi, was also shot in the back and
hospitalized, but his condition is stable. He told the Associated Press
that he and his colleague were among seven journalists who came to cover
the raid early Wednesday. All wore bulletproof vests with a <press>
band, which clearly identified them. They had walked past the Israeli
troops to make sure they were aware of their presence. Mr. Al-Samoudi
heard a first shot, then was hit by a second. The third killed Shireen
Abu Akleh, he said, specifying that no activists or camp residents were
near them.>>
Read more here:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/05/11/west-bank-israeli-army-accused-of-killing-al-jazeera-journalist_5983076_4.html
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