Shireen Abu Akleh, one of the best-known Palestinian journalists from Al Jazeera, was killed by Israeli soldiers in clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli army in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. The news was made public by Al Jazeera itself. Another journalist, Ali Samodi, was also injured.
The journalist was rushed to hospital in very critical condition, and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Abu Akleh was also wearing a press jacket and was with the other reporters at the scene when she was killed.
Qatar-based television station Al-Jazeera blamed Israel for the reporter's death.
We call on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces responsible for deliberately targeting and killing our colleague Shireen Abu Akleh.
Now, Israel and Palestine blame each other for the journalist's death and her death is exploited for political ends.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the Israeli occupation forces deliberately killed Abu Akleh. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he held the Israeli government fully responsible for the incident. According to Abbas, Israel targets journalists to obscure the truth and commit crimes in secret.
The Israeli army has instead made it known that it has opened an investigation stating that the journalist may have been killed by some Palestinian militants. The Israeli government has said that it is currently not possible to know what exactly happened. However, he pointed out that the Palestinians fired uncontrollably and therefore it is likely that a Palestinian shot killed the journalist.
According to another reporter, Shatha Hanaysha, also present on the spot but sheltered in a car, at that moment:
There were no clashes or shots fired by Palestinians, the soldiers were in front of them and there was a wall behind them. We all had bulletproof vests and helmets, we were four journalists in an exposed area. The Israeli army was determined to shoot to kill. It didn't stop shooting even after she collapsed, I couldn't even reach out to reach her because of the gunshots.
The Israeli police attacked Shireen Abu Akleh's funeral convoy yesterday, May 13th, the charges took place as Palestinians carried the reporter's coffin to the church in Jerusalem. The images show that the coffin of the Al Jazeera reporter, killed last Wednesday during an Israeli raid in the West Bank, was about to fall to the ground during the charges as Palestinians carrying it were kicked and beaten with batons.
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Police attacked young mourners who insisted on carrying the coffin, wrapped in a Palestinian flag on their shoulders, with sticks to the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Virgin in the Old City, where her funeral would take place, beating them and showering them with dirty water, before finally allowing a funeral vehicle to carry the coffin without being accompanied by the extraordinary number of mourners.
Tens of thousands attended the funeral service before Abu Akleh was taken to Mount Zion Cemetery, where she was buried along with her deceased parents.