Al Jazeera reporter killed by Israeli army gunfire in West Bank

[MenInG]

Al-Jazeera journalist Shereen Abu Aqleh was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early on Wednesday.

The Qatar-based news channel said the 51-year-old reporter was shot "deliberately" and "in cold blood" by Israeli troops.

Health officials in the West Bank said Abu Akleh, a well-known Palestinian reporter for the broadcaster's Arabic language channel, was shot and died soon afterward. Another Palestinian journalist working for the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper was wounded but in stable condition.

The Palestinian health ministry said the reporters were hit by Israeli fire. In video footage of the incident, Abu Akleh can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word “PRESS.”


The Israeli military said its forces came under attack with heavy gunfire and explosives while operating in Jenin, and that they fired back. The military said it is “investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”

In a statement, Al-Jazeera called on the international community to hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their "intentional targeting and killing" of the journalist. "In a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera's correspondent in Palestine," the statement said.

Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks amid a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, many of them carried out by Palestinians from in and around Jenin. The town, and particularly its refugee camp, has long been known as a militant bastion.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want the territory to form the main part of their future state. Nearly 3 million Palestinians live in the territory under Israeli military rule. Israel has built more than 130 settlements across the West Bank that are home to nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers, who have full Israeli citizenship.

Israelis have long been critical of Al-Jazeera's coverage, but authorities generally allow its journalists to operate freely. Another Al-Jazeera reporter, Givara Budeiri, was briefly detained last year during a protest in Jerusalem and treated for a broken hand, which her employer blamed on rough treatment by police.

Express Tribune

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Strongly condemn the assassination of respected Al-Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, at the hands of Israeli forces. Silencing voices of those who tell stories of oppressed people is part of a deliberate strategy employed by Israel & India in Palestine & Occupied Kashmir.</p>— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1524316199470915585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

A veteran Palestinian-American correspondent for Al Jazeera has been killed while covering a raid by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

The Qatar-based network said Shireen Abu Aqla was shot "deliberately" and "in cold blood" by Israeli troops in Jenin. Her producer was also wounded.

Israel's prime minister said it was "likely" they were shot by Palestinian gunmen during an exchange of fire.

But his military chief said it was not yet able to determine what happened.

The Palestinian president said he held the Israeli government fully responsible for what he described as a "crime of execution".

Shireen Abu Aqla, 51, was widely known and widely admired - by viewers and colleagues alike.

Early on Wednesday morning she went to the Jenin refugee camp to report on a raid by Israeli soldiers and security forces, which the Israeli military said was conducted to apprehend "terrorist suspects".

"During the activity, tens of Palestinian gunmen fired at and hurled explosive devices toward the soldiers. The soldiers responded with fire toward the gunmen and hits were identified," a military statement said.

The Palestinian health ministry said Abu Aqla was hit in the head by a live bullet during the raid. She was taken to hospital in a critical condition and later pronounced dead.

Another Palestinian journalist, Al Jazeera producer Ali Samoudi, was shot in the back and was in a stable condition in hospital, the health ministry added.

"We were going to film the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming," Al Jazeera cited Mr Samoudi as saying. "The first bullet hit me and the second bullet hit Shireen.

"There was no Palestinian military resistance at all at the scene," he added.

Video of the shooting showed Abu Aqla was wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word "press", as well as a helmet.

Shireen's body has been carried through the streets of Jenin, draped in a Palestinian flag and covered with her press flak jacket. Reporters and photographers packed in around the procession - having to cover the death of one of their own.

Shireen was a well loved reporter, one of the region's most experienced; always a familiar face at the many big news events that break here. A generation of Palestinians grew up seeing her on their TV screens, one of the best known women reporters covering the conflict.

In a tight-knit press corps, there is shock and disbelief. One colleague posted what he said was the last picture of her with them, putting on her flak jacket five minutes before her death. Another said of Shireen: "She saw death so many times during her coverage. You taught us how to do this dangerous work. You just broke our hearts."

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, Shireen Abu Aqla, targeting her with live fire early this morning... while conducting her journalistic duty."

The network called on the international community to hold the Israeli government and military accountable for the "intentional targeting and killing" of a journalist.

Qatar - which funds Al Jazeera - said it considered the killing a "heinous crime and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a blatant infringement on freedom of media and expression".

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the shooting of Abu Aqla and Samoudi and alleged that it was "part of the occupation's policy of targeting journalists to obscure the truth and commit crimes silently".

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Mr Abbas of making "baseless accusations".

"According to the information we have gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians - who were firing indiscriminately at the time - were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist," he said in a statement.

"Palestinians in Jenin were even filmed boasting: 'We hit a soldier; he's lying on the ground.' However, no [Israeli] soldier was injured, which increases the possibility that Palestinian terrorists were the ones who shot the journalist."

Israel's foreign ministry and the Israeli military tweeted a video showing a Palestinian gunman firing down an alleyway in the Jenin camp.

However, Israeli human rights group B'Tselem later said its researchers in Jenin had concluded that the Palestinian gunfire seen in that video could not possibly have been the gunfire that hit Abu Aqla and Samoudi.

In response, the Israeli foreign ministry stressed that "there was no claim that the gunfire in the clip killed" Abu Aqla.

Israeli military chief Lt Gen Aviv Kohavi meanwhile issued a statement saying: "At this stage, it is not possible to determine whose shooting she was hit by and we are sorry for her death."

Mr Bennett also said Israel had called on the Palestinian Authority to conduct a joint post mortem and investigation in order to get to the truth. He claimed that Palestinian officials had so far refused the offer, but a Palestinian minister said there had been no contact from Israel about a joint probe.

US state department spokesman Ned Price said it was "heartbroken by and strongly condemn the killing" of Abu Aqla.

"The investigation must be immediate and thorough and those responsible must be held accountable. Her death is an affront to media freedom everywhere."

Abu Aqla joined Al Jazeera in 1997 and was one of its first field correspondents. She was one of the best known women to become a regular face on TV screens covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the years.

Her colleague Nida Ibrahim said she was "very well respected" and that the news was "a shock to the journalists who have been working with her".

The Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, told the BBC's Newsday programme that she was a very close friend.

"She was a household [name] in Palestine, in the region and worldwide for being who she was - a prominent journalist who spent her life covering news, covering Israeli brutality in Palestine," he said.

The Israeli military frequently launches arrest raids into Jenin refugee camp. They have stepped up recently following a wave of attacks by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians on the streets of Israel and the West Bank in recent weeks that has left 17 Israelis and two Ukrainians dead.

At least 26 Palestinians have been killed - including assailants shot dead while carrying out attacks, or militants and civilians killed during Israeli raids and confrontations in the West Bank.

Israeli operations have centred on the Jenin district, where four of the Palestinians who carried out attacks in Israel came from.

BBC

 

[Markhor]

Absolutely barbaric.

There are consequences to non-stop anti-journalist rhetoric which we've seen from regressive forces in Israel for many years.

Not only is this a brazen attack on the media, but on a defenceless woman. Where are the womens' rights brigade ?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

She was wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked 'PRESS' but got taken out with a headshot. Yeah that must just have been bad luck.

 

[sweep_shot]

Barbaric indeed.

May the Zionists pay for their crimes one day.

 

[MenInG]

Ramallah, Occupied West Bank – Israeli forces have shot dead Al Jazeera’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Abu Akleh, a longtime TV correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, was killed on Wednesday while covering Israeli army raids in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.

She was rushed to a hospital in Jenin in critical condition, where she was declared dead shortly after, at 7:15am (4:15 GMT), according to the ministry and Al Jazeera journalists.

Abu Akleh was wearing a press vest and was standing with other journalists when she was killed.

Another Al Jazeera journalist, Ali al-Samoudi, was also wounded by a bullet in the back at the scene. He is now in stable condition.

The head of the medicine department at al-Najah University in Nablus confirmed that Abu Akleh was shot in the head. He said that her body was transferred for an autopsy based on an order from the public prosecution.

Abu Akleh’s body was carried out of the university coated in a Palestinian flag, after which she will be taken to the Istishari Hospital in Ramallah.

An official funeral will be held for her tomorrow morning at the Palestinian presidency headquarters in Ramallah.

‘No confrontations’

Al-Samoudi and other journalists at the scene said there were no Palestinian fighters present when the journalists were shot, directly disputing an Israeli statement referencing the possibility that it was Palestinian fire.

“We were going to film the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming,” said al-Samoudi.

“The first bullet hit me and the second bullet hit Shireen … there was no Palestinian military resistance at all at the scene.”

Shatha Hanaysha, a local journalist who was standing next to Abu Akleh when she was shot, also told Al Jazeera that there had been no confrontations between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli army. She said the group of journalists had been directly targeted.

“We were four journalists, we were all wearing vests, all wearing helmets,” Hanaysha said. “The [Israeli] occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her because of the shots being fired. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.”

The details of Abu Akleh’s killing are still emerging, but videos of the incident show that she was shot in the head, said Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim.

“What we know for now is that the Palestinian health ministry has announced her death. Shireen Abu Akleh was covering the events unfolding in Jenin, specifically, an Israeli raid on the city, which is north of the occupied West Bank, when she was hit by a bullet to the head,” Ibrahim said, speaking from the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

In her last email to the network, Abu Akleh sent a message to Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau at 6:13am (3:13 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.”

Separately on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said an 18 year old Palestinian, Thaer Mislet-Yazouri, was shot dead by Israeli forces in the town of al-Bireh, near the illegal settlement of Psagot.

Shock and grief

Abu Akleh, who was a dual Palestinian-American national, was one of Al Jazeera’s first field correspondents, joining the network in 1997.


Grief and sorrow filled the Al Jazeera offices in downtown Ramallah as the news quickly spread and dozens of colleagues, fellow journalists, friends, and Palestinian figures poured in, including Palestinian politicians Hanan Ashrawi and Khalida Jarrar.

Palestinian MP Khalida 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,” Jarrar told Al Jazeera, 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,” said Jarrar.

The Palestinian presidency condemned the killing, saying in a statement that it holds the Israeli occupation responsible.

Palestinian Authority (PA) government spokesperson Ibrahim Melhem described it as a “comprehensive crime committed against a well-known journalist”.

“The killing was deliberate… There will be an autopsy by Palestinian medics, which will be followed by a report including all the details of the killing,” Melhem told Al Jazeera.

“However, all the witnesses present at the scene of the crime ensures that it was an Israeli sniper that committed the crime in a deliberate way.”

Yair Lapid, the Israeli foreign minister, said Tel Aviv was offering a “joint pathological investigation” into Abu Akleh’s “sad death”. He added that “journalists must be protected in conflict zones”.

One of Abu Akleh’s former colleagues, Mohammad Hawwash, who knew her for more than 25 years, said she was a “real journalist”.

“Shereen was a professional and unbiased journalist who conveyed the reality and events as they are,” Hawwash, 70, told Al Jazeera.

Palestine TV correspondent Christine Rinawi, who was often with Abu Akleh in the field in Jerusalem, said the late reporter was a “professor in the world of journalism.”

“We would meet for hours in the field, we would be arrested together, we were wounded together. Shireen was a message throughout all her journalistic life, and even in her martyrdom, she is a message,” Rinawi told Al Jazeera.

“This is a sad day, a black day. There are no words to explain the pain that we are all going through,” she added.

The Israeli military said its soldiers had come under attack with heavy gunfire and explosives while operating in Jenin, and that they fired back. It added that it was “investigating the event”.

Al Jazeera’s offices in the Gaza Strip, in a building that also housed the Associated Press, were bombed by Israeli forces during an offensive a year ago, and Palestinian and international journalists say they have been regularly targeted by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.

Many in Palestine and abroad took to social media to express their shock and grief.

“Israeli occupation forces assassinated our beloved journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while covering their brutality in Jenin this morning. Shireen was most prominent Palestinian journalist and a close friend,” wrote Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Those who knew her described her as brave, kind and a voice for the Palestinians.

“Shireen was a brave, kind and high integrity journalist that I and millions of Palestinians grew up watching,” wrote Fadi Quran, an activist at the campaign group, Avaaz.

“Horrified to hear of Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin! Shireen has boldly covered Israel’s aggression in Palestine for over two decades,” wrote Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian-American activist and lawyer.

“In disbelief,” wrote Salem Barahmeh, a Palestinian activist. “We grew up to her reporting on the second intifada. She was our voice. Rest in power and peace. Another day, another tragedy.”

Giles Trendle, Al Jazeera’s managing director, said the network was “shocked and saddened” by the death of Shireen Abu Akleh.

“We have had a history throughout the world but particularly in this region, where we have had tragedies,” he said, calling for a transparent investigation of the killing of Abu Akleh.

“As journalists, we carry on. Our mission is to carry on. We will not be silenced,” said Trendle. “Our mission is always to carry on to inform the world what is happening. And that is more important ever.”

Al Jazeera

 

[topspin]

Beyond awful.

The silence from Western media is deafening.

 

[Gilly]

Beyond awful.

The silence from Western media is deafening.

Not one western media report.

 

[James]

She was wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked 'PRESS' but got taken out with a headshot. Yeah that must just have been bad luck.

Good grief, that is horrible.

 

[90MPH]

This was a murder, she was killed by a sniper so this wasn’t accidental.

This horrific killing will only spurn more heroic journalism because the point of these killings is to stop covering the occupation but I’m sure it will have the opposite effect because it’s not going to deter opresserd people.

 

[MenInG]

UN Secretary General António Guterres says he is "appalled" by Wednesday's killing of veteran Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla.

He also called for an independent investigation into her death.

Abu Aqla, 51, died while covering a raid by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. Her producer was injured.

Al Jazeera said Israeli troops "deliberately" shot her. Israel's prime minister said it was "likely" she was shot by Palestinian gunmen.

The prime minister, Naftali Bennett, called for a joint post mortem and investigation with the Palestinians, but on Thursday Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh said the request had been refused.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he held the Israeli government fully responsible for what he described as a "crime of execution".

In a statement issued via his spokesperson late on Wednesday, Mr Guterres called on "the relevant authorities to carry out an independent and transparent investigation into this incident and 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," the statement added.

Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter that Americans were "heartbroken to learn of the killing" of Abu Aqla and the injuries to her producer.

"We send our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and strongly condemn her killing," Ms Psaki added, calling her a "reporting legend" who will be "mourned by all who knew her".

Abu Aqla was widely known and widely admired - by viewers and colleagues alike.

Early on Wednesday morning she went to the Jenin refugee camp to report on a raid by Israeli soldiers and security forces, which the Israeli military said was conducted to apprehend "terrorist suspects".

"During the activity, tens of Palestinian gunmen fired at and hurled explosive devices toward the soldiers. The soldiers responded with fire toward the gunmen and hits were identified," a military statement said.

The Palestinian health ministry said Abu Aqla was hit in the head by a live bullet during the raid. She was taken to hospital in a critical condition and later pronounced dead.

Another Palestinian journalist, Al Jazeera producer Ali Samoudi, was shot in the back and was in a stable condition in hospital, the health ministry added.

Al Jazeera cited Mr Samoudi as saying there was "no Palestinian military resistance" at the scene of the shooting.

BBC

 

[silentkiller187]

Imagine this happened in Ukraine, the name of the journalist would be all over everyones social media in amartter of hours, the western media dont even hide the hypocrisy now a days so sad to see.

 

[MenInG]

Thousands of people have gathered for the funeral of an Al Jazeera journalist shot dead during an Israeli military raid.

Shireen Abu Akleh was a Palestinian-American reporter who covered the Middle East conflict for more than 25 years.

Journalists who were with her in the West Bank city of Jenin said Israeli forces fired at them even though they were wearing "press" vests and clearly identifiable as reporters.

Her body was carried through the streets after the killing - with the bulletproof vest on top of the coffin.

The 51-year-old's death on Wednesday has led to an outpouring of grief in the Arab world, where she was well known after years on Al Jazeera's Arabic language service.

The channel has accused Israel of deliberately killing her and has promised legal action. Ms Abu Akleh's colleague was also wounded in the shooting.

The head of the Palestinian Authority has blamed Israel and rejected calls for a joint investigation.

"They cannot hide the truth with this crime," said President Mahmoud Abbas as her body lay with a Palestinian flag draped over it at the funeral in Ramallah.

"They are the ones who committed the crime, and because we do not trust them, we will immediately go to the International Criminal Court," he said.

An investigation into possible Israeli war crimes was launched by the ICC over a year ago.

Israel has said it is investigating the incident after initially suggesting she might have been shot by Palestinian militants, before backtracking.

It wants a joint probe to be carried out with the Palestinian Authority.

An aide to President Abbas, Hussein al-Sheikh, said they would conduct their own investigation "with high transparency".

Ms Abu Akleh was in Jenin to cover an Israeli raid; in recent weeks the city has been used by militants as a base to conduct a wave of deadly attacks on Israel, which has launched counter-terror operations in response.

However, reporters with her said there were no militants in the area at the time.

SKY

 

[MenInG]

The emir of Qatar on Thursday accused Israel over the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank.

Abu Akleh was "killed by the Israeli occupation forces", Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said at a joint news conference in Tehran with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi.

"We must hold the perpetrators of this heinous crime accountable," the Qatari leader added.

Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American, was shot dead on Wednesday as she covered the Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp.

The Qatar-based pan-Arab television channel charged that the Israeli forces had killed her deliberately "in cold blood".

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had said Wednesday it was "likely" Abu Akleh was killed by stray Palestinian gunfire, but Defence Minister Benny Gantz later conceded it could have been "the Palestinians who shot her" or fire from "our side".

Calls have mounted around the world for an independent investigation into the shooting.

But the Palestinians have turned down an Israeli offer to carry out a joint probe, saying they would investigate alone and share their findings.

The Iranian president also implicated Israel, the sworn enemy of the Islamic republic.

"We are certain that these crimes cannot bring security to the Zionist regime. To the contrary, they will only increase popular anger" towards Israel, Raisi said.

AFP

 

[MenInG]

Violence broke out at the funeral in East Jerusalem of reporter Shireen Abu Aqla, killed in disputed circumstances in the occupied West Bank.

Her coffin was jostled as Israeli police and Palestinians clashed as it left a hospital in East Jerusalem.

Abu Aqla, who worked for Al Jazeera, was shot dead on Wednesday while reporting on an Israeli operation.

The killing sparked widespread condemnation, with Israel and the Palestinians trading blame.

The Palestinian Authority and Al Jazeera claimed Abu Aqla was shot dead by Israeli forces, while Israel said it was not yet possible to determine what happened and that she could have been killed by Palestinian gunfire.

The Palestinians refused Israel's request for a joint probe, saying they did not trust the Israelis. Both sides are carrying out their own investigations.

The BBC's Tom Bateman in Jerusalem says there is growing pressure for a fast and transparent inquiry into Abu Aqla's death. He says a focus is emerging on the bullet that killed her, recovered during the post-mortem but reportedly of a type used by both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen.

The Israeli military released interim findings on Thursday, which said it was not possible to determine the source of the fatal shot.

The report said it could have come from "massive fire from Palestinian gunmen", or possibly from "a few bullets" fired by a soldier "at a terrorist who was firing at his vehicle".

As Abu Aqla's coffin was carried aloft from a hospital at the start of her funeral, violence erupted causing it to almost topple. Israeli police said officers at the scene were pelted with stones and "were forced to use riot dispersal means".

Footage showed a standoff between police and Palestinians gathered around the coffin in the hospital compound, before officers push the crowd back, with some using batons. Projectiles are seen flying towards the police, who also fired tear gas.

The funeral proceed more calmly afterwards.

Shireen Abu Aqla, a 51-year-old Palestinian American, was a veteran correspondent for Al Jazeera's Arabic news channel and had reported on the Israel-Palestinian conflict for two decades.

She was given the rarity of a funeral at the compound of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, where her coffin was brought draped in the Palestinian flag. President Abbas paid tribute to her, describing her as a "martyr of the free word" who "sacrificed her life" to defend the Palestinian cause.

"We hold the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for her killing and they will not be able to conceal the truth with this crime," he said.

He said he would refer the case to the International Criminal Court, which investigates potential war crimes.

There was no immediate response from the ICC or the Israeli government to Mr Abbas' stated intention. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has accused Mr Abbas of "throwing blame at Israel without any basis."

Abu Aqla was wearing a blue flak jacket, clearly marked with the word "Press", when she went to the Jenin refugee camp early on Wednesday to report on the Israeli raid. The Israeli military said the operation was to apprehend "terrorist suspects".

It said "tens of Palestinian gunmen fired at and hurled explosive devices toward the soldiers. The soldiers responded with fire toward the gunmen and hits were identified".

Another Palestinian journalist, Al Jazeera producer Ali Samoudi, was shot and wounded during the violence.

Speaking on Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Aviv Kochavi said Abu Aqla was killed "in a battle zone", adding that the Israeli military regretted her death.

The incident comes at a time of particularly high tension between Israel and the Palestinians, after nearly two months of one of the deadliest periods of violence in years. Israel has carried out operations in Jenin in the wake of a wave of killings of Israeli Jews by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs in Israel and the West Bank.

Seventeen Israelis and two Ukrainians have been killed in stabbings, shootings, car rammings and an axe attack. In the same period, dozens of Palestinians have been killed - including assailants shot dead while carrying out attacks, or militants and civilians killed during Israeli raids and confrontations.

Four of the Palestinians who carried out attacks in Israel came from the Jenin district.

BBC

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Everyone switch on to Al Jazeera right now. This is one of the most horrifying things I’ve seen. <br><br>IOF is attacking mourners carrying Shireen’s body from the hospital right now. They’re using stun grenades and tear gas and charging at them with horses and batons. <a href="https://t.co/wUY80WO6su">pic.twitter.com/wUY80WO6su</a></p>— Khadija (@khadljasays) <a href="https://twitter.com/khadljasays/status/1525068306251644930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Robert]

The IDF stormed the funeral. This is unacceptable in a civilised society.

I think the UN should disband. Any member of the UNPSC can veto any UN decision. Scores of UN Resolutions have sought to reign in Israel govt abuses of power down the years, but USA vetoes every one.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Everyone switch on to Al Jazeera right now. This is one of the most horrifying things I’ve seen. <br><br>IOF is attacking mourners carrying Shireen’s body from the hospital right now. They’re using stun grenades and tear gas and charging at them with horses and batons. <a href="https://t.co/wUY80WO6su">pic.twitter.com/wUY80WO6su</a></p>— Khadija (@khadljasays) <a href="https://twitter.com/khadljasays/status/1525068306251644930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Words cannot describe this.

 

[MenInG]

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 Wednesday 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.

Shortly before the funeral started, the IDF released preliminary findings from their investigation into the killing.

The report says it is still not possible to determine who fired the bullet that killed the journalist, but they concede it could have been an IDF soldier.

The findings will make little difference to the thousands gathered in Jerusalem to bury her - to Palestinians she was murdered and they have lost a voice that spent decades reporting on events in the West Bank

The situation remains very tense.

SKY

 

[Zaz]

Even for israeli standards this is truly barbaric Shame on them

 

[KingKhanWC]

Not one western media report.

Your contribution is mere sarcasm without any condmenation?

RIP to the brave journalist. She was braver than anyone in armed forces, knowing her life was always in danger without any protection for exposing the evil Zionist crimes.

No surprise the US and its lapdogs are shying away from condemning Israel, even though she was from the US.

The day this occupying terrorist state is no more , the world will be far better off.

 

[Robert]

Not one western media report.

France24 reported it.

 

[James]

This is just horrific from Israel and the IDF.

I would say it’s a new low, but given their ever lengthening list of war crimes I’m not even sure about that.

 

[James]

The IDF stormed the funeral. This is unacceptable in a civilised society.

I think the UN should disband. Any member of the UNPSC can veto any UN decision. Scores of UN Resolutions have sought to reign in Israel govt abuses of power down the years, but USA vetoes every one.

Welcome back.

 

[Technics 1210]

MSM too busy worried about Putin/Ukrainians agenda.

 

[KingKhanWC]

MSM too busy worried about Putin/Ukrainians agenda.

No they will always find time to help their Zionist masters propaganda, painting the oppressed people who have a right to self defence as violent.

Shireen Abu Aqla: Violence at Al Jazeera reporter's funeral in Jerusalem

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-61437601

 

[Robert]

Welcome back.

Thank you.

 

[KingKhanWC]

^ Pls show some respect the brave lady who was murdered. Maybe you both dont care but many of us are sad because of her death. DM are for personal friendship and welcomes.

 

[James]

^ Pls show some respect the brave lady who was murdered. Maybe you both dont care but many of us are sad because of her death. DM are for personal friendship and welcomes.

We’ve both shared our thoughts higher up in the thread and it is clear from what we have posted that we completely condemn and oppose Israel and the IDF. (I have posted multiple times.)

I am personally very sad about the lady’s death and it is a barbaric act of murder.

 

[James]

Not only is this a brazen attack on the media, but on a defenceless woman. Where are the womens' rights brigade ?

Israel promotes itself as the most progressive country for women’s rights in the Middle East, but in the context of this latest hideous incident clearly this is not the case at all.

 

[Zaz]

And they now attack the procession carrying her coffin nearly causing the coffin to drop onto the floor And injuring many innocent people

Truly a despicable terrorist state with no regard for humanity or palestinian lives

 

[KingKhanWC]

We’ve both shared our thoughts higher up in the thread and it is clear from what we have posted that we completely condemn and oppose Israel and the IDF. (I have posted multiple times.)

I am personally very sad about the lady’s death and it is a barbaric act of murder.

Ok thanks James.

And they now attack the procession carrying her coffin nearly causing the coffin to drop onto the floor And injuring many innocent people

Truly a despicable terrorist state with no regard for humanity or palestinian lives

The poor brave lady even when dead cant rest in peace with Zionist terrorists around.

Reminds me of the great peace activist Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall.

The west who supports Israel, who created this illegitimate nation brushes this off. This is why I will never support US or Nato foreign policy. Whoever is their enemy is in reality much better than them.

 

[Robert]

Citizens of Masafer Yatta village in the South Hebron Hills have become the latest Palestinians to face the threat of mass expulsion from their own land and forced transfer by the Israeli authorities. Some 1000 villagers including 500 children face immediate deportation.

This represents a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention regarding the rights of the citizens of territory under occupation.

Perhaps British PPers can write to their MPs about this abuse. Your MP may not care, but at least can be made aware that you do.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"I was able to convey the people's message and voice."<br><br>Not long before her killing by Israeli occupation forces, Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh spoke about her career and what it meant to her to report on the occupation. <a href="https://t.co/mUTmXJA9cA">pic.twitter.com/mUTmXJA9cA</a></p>— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) <a href="https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1524373256169422849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[James]

I think it is telling that the usual Israel defenders across social media are really struggling with this one. Most of them just seem to have skedaddled and fallen silent. Because really what can one say about this? Dreadful and cruel.

 

[Gilly]

I think it is telling that the usual Israel defenders across social media are really struggling with this one. Most of them just seem to have skedaddled and fallen silent. Because really what can one say about this? Dreadful and cruel.

In all fairness though James, defenders of Palestinians have not mentioned the three Israeli's that were killed with an axe by Palestinians.

Both sides need to stop the killings.

 

[MenInG]

In all fairness though James, defenders of Palestinians have not mentioned the three Israeli's that were killed with an axe by Palestinians.

Both sides need to stop the killings.

And am sure they will be brought to justice for that crime and punished at some point. Who will punish the Israelis and when?

 

[Mamoon]

Ok thanks James.



The poor brave lady even when dead cant rest in peace with Zionist terrorists around.

Reminds me of the great peace activist Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall.

The west who supports Israel, who created this illegitimate nation brushes this off. This is why I will never support US or Nato foreign policy. Whoever is their enemy is in reality much better than them.

You do. You live in a NATO member country and pay taxes.

 

[ahsan17]

I think it is telling that the usual Israel defenders across social media are really struggling with this one. Most of them just seem to have skedaddled and fallen silent. Because really what can one say about this? Dreadful and cruel.

Yes, the usual excuses are lost this time. Hard to come up with an excuse here. When they steal someone's house, they can always say that person was shooting at them.

 

[James]

And they now attack the procession carrying her coffin nearly causing the coffin to drop onto the floor And injuring many innocent people

Truly a despicable terrorist state with no regard for humanity or palestinian lives

I couldn’t quite believe my eyes when I saw that clip of the coffin collapsing. It was so disrespectful and surreal that thought I was watching some feudal village dispute between tribes or rival families at first. As it turns out, it was the official state army carrying out orders in a government’s name. Quite astonishing.

 

[MenInG]

You do. You live in a NATO member country and pay taxes.

I guess an alien concept in some societies but living in a country does not mean you support their policies.

If that was the case, you would be considered a supporter of all policies put in place by Imran Khan.

 

[Manunited18]

Ok thanks James.



The poor brave lady even when dead cant rest in peace with Zionist terrorists around.

Reminds me of the great peace activist Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall.

The west who supports Israel, who created this illegitimate nation brushes this off. This is why I will never support US or Nato foreign policy. Whoever is their enemy is in reality much better than them.

Sad sad day. Like you I condemn the zionest state, USA, NATO and its allies are hypocrites of the highest order.

 

[James]

Citizens of Masafer Yatta village in the South Hebron Hills have become the latest Palestinians to face the threat of mass expulsion from their own land and forced transfer by the Israeli authorities. Some 1000 villagers including 500 children face immediate deportation.

This represents a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention regarding the rights of the citizens of territory under occupation.

Perhaps British PPers can write to their MPs about this abuse. Your MP may not care, but at least can be made aware that you do.

I find the UK government’s position on Israel to be quite perplexing.

On one hand there is British opposition to the inhumane treatment of the Palestinians, formal acknowledgement in line with the UN and the Geneva Convention that the Israeli settlements are illegal, and recognition that Palestine is under unlawful occupation.

Many representatives in the UK Parliament want Palestine to be recognised as a full state. The UK government is pro the idea of a two stage solution.

David Cameron called the Gaza Strip an open air prison.

Priti Patel was sacked as a minister by Theresa May for holding secret meetings with Israeli civil servants in the Golan Heights.

And yet we (the UK) still maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, the British government continues to recognise the State of Israel, and statements that we release often take either a supportive view of the IDF and Israel’s actions or at the very least an ambiguous or ambivalent view.

I don’t understand it.

It’s all very well the West isolating Russia and Belarus on the world stage, but this is double standards, because surely Israel should by all accounts be ostracised in the same way until it changes its brutally aggressive policies and starts to seriously work towards peace.

 

[James]

You do. You live in a NATO member country and pay taxes.

UK citizens have at periodic times received an annual tax information leaflet to their home address, which our government will post out to us.

Military spending via the money gathered from UK taxpayers is only a very small piece of the pie.

Most of our taxes are spent on health, education, and the welfare state including benefits and pensions.

Moreover where somebody lives and pays taxes is often an accident of birth and because all people have to make a living in some way, they can’t then refuse to pay taxes on their earnings which is a legal requirement or they would go to prison.

Not sure what your point is here.

 

[James]

I guess an alien concept in some societies but living in a country does not mean you support their policies.

If that was the case, you would be considered a supporter of all policies put in place by Imran Khan.

Exactly. One can be a taxpayer and also hold a personal opinion about the government’s foreign policy. Paying tax is a civic duty and legal requirement — it is not an endorsement.

 

[MenInG]

Israeli police officers charged at Palestinian mourners carrying the coffin of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on Friday before thousands led her casket through Jerusalem's Old City in an outpouring of grief and anger over her killing.

Packed around Abu Akleh's coffin, dozens of Palestinians, some waving Palestinian flags and chanting "with our soul and blood we will redeem you Shireen," began walking toward the gates of St Joseph's Hospital.

Bella Hadid, Mark Ruffalo among others condemned Israel's atrocities. "This is the kind of torture and abuse Palestinians face at the hands of the Israeli military occupation," the supermodel shared on her Instagram account with a video of the aforementioned incident. "No matter who you are, how can you watch this and not scream in rage and cry painful tears? How can you not see your mother, father, grandfather, sister, or brother, in the eyes of our people?! Why can’t you see?"

She added, "Not only to watch a veteran like Shireen be disrespected and thrown around like this, on her way from the hospital to the church, for the last time to Rest in Peace. But also to watch our mourning elderly and people be slammed around, pushed down, scared for their lives."

Hadid went on to add, "What kind of a threat are people mourning a loved one? This is a funeral procession to lay a Palestinian veteran and legend to rest. Beyond anything, she is a human being. What do you have to hide that you continue to kill our journalists? That says enough about this military system, their government and the geopolitical game they pawn their people off to."

The Avengers star, too, took to social media and condemned Akleh's death. "Another significant loss for the Palestinian people and democracy. The list is long, brutal and cruel," Ruffalo penned.

PR Mogul Frieha Altaf shared her two cents on the matter as well. "Outrageous! How can you beat mourners at a funeral of a journalist? Israeli forces first shot and killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla and then beat up the mourners!"

Abu Akleh, who had covered Palestinian affairs and the Middle East for more than two decades, was shot while reporting on an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

Palestinian authorities have described Abu Akleh's killing as an assassination by Israeli forces. Israel's government initially suggested Palestinian fire might have been to blame, but officials have also said they could not rule out it was Israeli gunfire that killed her.

Express Tribune

 

[Zaz]

In all fairness though James, defenders of Palestinians have not mentioned the three Israeli's that were killed with an axe by Palestinians.

Both sides need to stop the killings.

Again gilly makes a false equivalence that in some way this is some equal fight between two warring parties and its *** for tat equal violence

What he doesnt mention is that there is in actual fact a huge imbalance in power One is the occupier the other occupied, one has full blown military the other none

One side is hugely violated and discriminated daily and is having their land taken away from them inch by inch year after year

Theres no justification for a reporter to be shot in the head by a sniper then her coffin attacked by state soldiers

Morally theres no way you can justify whats going on by saying "both sides need to stop the killings" or as "clashes" because this is the total opposite of the truth

 

[Mamoon]

I guess an alien concept in some societies but living in a country does not mean you support their policies.

If that was the case, you would be considered a supporter of all policies put in place by Imran Khan.

UK citizens have at periodic times received an annual tax information leaflet to their home address, which our government will post out to us.

Military spending via the money gathered from UK taxpayers is only a very small piece of the pie.

Most of our taxes are spent on health, education, and the welfare state including benefits and pensions.

Moreover where somebody lives and pays taxes is often an accident of birth and because all people have to make a living in some way, they can’t then refuse to pay taxes on their earnings which is a legal requirement or they would go to prison.

Not sure what your point is here.

This is aimed at dual nationals.

Pakistanis living in the West do not have the moral right to question western foreign policy because apart from those who are doing low-income jobs, driving taxis, working in supermarkets etc., they are there by choice and can use their qualification, expertise and skills to work in Pakistan but they are not interested in doing so because servitude of the West allows them to make money in $, £ and €.

Interestingly enough, you would find that these people are usually more vocal about morality, ethics and patriotism and are often the harshest critics of the Western foreign policy but fail to see their own hypocrisy.

They are more than 3 million Pakistanis living in Europe, North America and Australasia. Imagine the impact of their collective voice on the Western foreign policy if this diaspora unites and refuses to pay taxes to the Western government because their morality would not allow them to fund atrocities against Muslims.

Will they do it? Of course not - it is unlikely to result in a favorable outcome. A lot of them might get deported back to where they came from, and the $, £ and € is more important than they sufferings of the Muslim community.

They do not ‘support’ the Western foreign policy but they are happy to ‘facilitate’ it through their tax money as long as their personal lives are not impacted.

These people have no credibility and they are in no position to lecture others on patriotism and what it means to be a Muslim. Furthermore, they have no right to criticize the Western foreign policy because they are facilitating it by choice.

 

[MenInG]

This is aimed at dual nationals.

Pakistanis living in the West do not have the moral right to question western foreign policy because apart from those who are doing low-income jobs, driving taxis, working in supermarkets etc., they are there by choice and can use their qualification, expertise and skills to work in Pakistan but they are not interested in doing so because servitude of the West allows them to make money in $, £ and €.

Interestingly enough, you would find that these people are usually more vocal about morality, ethics and patriotism and are often the harshest critics of the Western foreign policy but fail to see their own hypocrisy.

They are more than 3 million Pakistanis living in Europe, North America and Australasia. Imagine the impact of their collective voice on the Western foreign policy if this diaspora unites and refuses to pay taxes to the Western government because their morality would not allow them to fund atrocities against Muslims.

Will they do it? Of course not - it is unlikely to result in a favorable outcome. A lot of them might get deported back to where they came from, and the $, £ and € is more important than they sufferings of the Muslim community.

They do not ‘support’ the Western foreign policy but they are happy to ‘facilitate’ it through their tax money as long as their personal lives are not impacted.

These people have no credibility and they are in no position to lecture others on patriotism and what it means to be a Muslim. Furthermore, they have no right to criticize the Western foreign policy because they are facilitating it by choice.

No national of the country will be deported for opposing the government.

Even today whenever there are marches opposing Israelis etc, the same people who are earning halal income from whatever activity (which you in your most Pakistani class conscious way describe as menial) will go to those marches and protest about it.

You still dont get the idea of living in a democracy and really I cannot waste my time arguing with you as you clearly have an agenda in mind.

 

[MenInG]

Also Mamoon.

Don't hijack this thread as its in memory of the slain journalist.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"'They're armed with cameras, if you'll permit me to say.' Armed with cameras! Yes that's how a spokesman for a military funded in part by the United States reportedly described a journalist."<br><br>My commentary on the death of U.S. reporter Shireen Abu Akleh:<a href="https://t.co/iUqgoKVJNp">pic.twitter.com/iUqgoKVJNp</a></p>— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) <a href="https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1524751269906157568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Technics 1210]

UK citizens have at periodic times received an annual tax information leaflet to their home address, which our government will post out to us.

Military spending via the money gathered from UK taxpayers is only a very small piece of the pie.

Most of our taxes are spent on health, education, and the welfare state including benefits and pensions.

Moreover where somebody lives and pays taxes is often an accident of birth and because all people have to make a living in some way, they can’t then refuse to pay taxes on their earnings which is a legal requirement or they would go to prison.

Not sure what your point is here.

Don't bother, Mamoon has never paid taxes anyway let alone receive an annual tax statement. His point as always is just to rile and troll, and not address the subject at hand.

Back to topic, some disturbing scenes at the funeral, but as usual any criticism of the IDF is ls being labelled as antisemitism by Amreekan media.

 

[MenInG]

 

[Robert]

And yet we (the UK) still maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, the British government continues to recognise the State of Israel, and statements that we release often take either a supportive view of the IDF and Israel’s actions or at the very least an ambiguous or ambivalent view.

I don’t understand it.

It’s all very well the West isolating Russia and Belarus on the world stage, but this is double standards, because surely Israel should by all accounts be ostracised in the same way until it changes its brutally aggressive policies and starts to seriously work towards peace.

Layla Moran MP of the Lib Dems tweeted that she has written to Foreign Secretary Truss to condemn the shooting and funeral disruption, but I wouldn’t expect Truss to do so.

 

[James]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The attacks on mourners at the funeral of the journalist, Shireen Abu Aqla, have shocked the world.<br><br>The Labour Party unequivocally condemns the violence by Israeli forces.<br><br>Out thoughts are with Shireen’s family and all those who mourn her death. <a href="https://t.co/QG74VIkhL4">pic.twitter.com/QG74VIkhL4</a></p>— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) <a href="https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1525445138247557120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Technics 1210]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The attacks on mourners at the funeral of the journalist, Shireen Abu Aqla, have shocked the world.<br><br>The Labour Party unequivocally condemns the violence by Israeli forces.<br><br>Out thoughts are with Shireen’s family and all those who mourn her death. <a href="https://t.co/QG74VIkhL4">pic.twitter.com/QG74VIkhL4</a></p>— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) <a href="https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1525445138247557120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Well, have to say, KS has surprised me. I knew he was a Zionist apologist, but my respect for him has increased after this tweet. Though it comes at a cost, he has shot all chances of becoming UK PM.

 

[James]

Well, have to say, KS has surprised me. I knew he was a Zionist apologist, but my respect for him has increased after this tweet. Though it comes at a cost, he has shot all chances of becoming UK PM.

One of his better statements.

 

[KingKhanWC]

The usual ** talk by UK and US governments.

These sickos are the ones who installed this illegitimate state and has since funding, supporting and helping them in oppression.

 

[Abstraction1]

You must have a low threshold to give your respect to people.

These politicians are disingenuous.

Especially in the UK where the majority of then sre backed and funded for being "Friends of Israel".

I'll save my respect for when they start sanctioning Israel

 

[MenInG]

Nahed Araf Imran and her husband Jamal were exhausted but excited on Wednesday morning: Nahed was in labour with their third child at a local hospital in Nablus, in the north of the occupied West Bank.

But when Jamal’s mother arrived at the hospital crying just before the couple’s daughter was born, he knew something was wrong.

“I asked her what happened and she told me that Shireen Abu Aqleh had been shot dead by the Israelis. Shireen had visited us in our town, Bureen, and covered demonstrations here many times. Everybody knows her,” the 29-year-old construction worker said.

“My mum was heartbroken. I said to myself, when the baby comes, we will call her Shireen, and my wife agreed.”

Shireen Abu Aqleh Jamal Imran came into the world at about noon on Wednesday. At dawn that morning, her namesake, a 51-year-old veteran Al Jazeera journalist, had been shot in the head and killed during an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) raid in the West Bank town of Jenin.

Israeli officials said they believed the dual Palestinian-American citizen had died after being hit by Palestinian fire during an altercation between IDF soldiers and Palestinian gunmen.

But the reporter’s colleagues at the scene said there were no militants near the small group of journalists – all wearing helmets and body armour clearly marked as “press” – when they came under fire from the direction of the Israeli unit. Ali Samodi, an Al Jazeera producer who was shot in the back, told the Observer from his hospital bed that even after Abu Aqleh had fallen to the ground and colleagues tried to reach her, the bullets kept coming. Video of the incident confirms this version of events.

Israel has firmly rejected allegations that its soldiers deliberately targeted the journalists, but the international community is demanding answers in what Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based TV network, has described as an “assassination” carried out “in cold blood”.

Unlike the killings of anonymous Palestinians that occur in the occupied West Bank on a regular basis, Abu Aqleh was a familiar face, broadcasting to millions across the Arab world and well known for her bravery during a 15-year television news career. She was also a US citizen. This time, an Israeli strategy of deflection and denial has backfired.

What is seen by the Palestinians as Israeli obfuscation also threatens to inflame a spate of violence that has surged across Israel and the Palestinian territories since late March.

Shireen Abu Akleh spent over 25 years working as journalist for Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera. Abu Akleh, a Palestinian of Christian faith, lived and worked in East Jerusalem. Her coverage mainly focused on the Middle East conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. She often reported from dangerous places but was known for remaining calm and cautious.
A video released by the IDF of what it said were Palestinian militants engaged in a firefight in Jenin on the morning Abu Aqleh was killed has been heavily criticised: human rights group B’Tselem, which visited the two locations, found it was impossible for the shooting in the IDF-distributed video to be the same gunfire that hit Abu Aqleh and Samodi.

And the spectacle of Israeli police storming Abu Aqleh’s funeral procession in Jerusalem on Friday, causing pallbearers to drop her coffin, has added to Palestinian and international outrage.

The public display of Palestinian flags in occupied East Jerusalem is forbidden by the Israeli authorities under any circumstances, but many mourners arrived waving Palestinian banners. The journalist’s casket was also draped in the flag, followed by an orange stretcher bearing a flak jacket marked “press”.

Israeli police confront mourners as they carry the casket of Shireen Abu Aqleh on Friday. Photograph: Maya Levin/AP© Provided by The Guardian Israeli police confront mourners as they carry the casket of Shireen Abu Aqleh on Friday. Photograph: Maya Levin/AP
The EU said it was appalled by the “unnecessary” force used by the Israeli police, while the White House described footage of the scene as “deeply disturbing”.

Israel’s police said the mourners were “disrupting public order” by throwing stones at the heavy police presence, but on Saturdayyesterday said an investigation into the officers’ actions would be launched.

“I was horrified by what I saw on TV from the funeral. I think it shows how Shireen exposed [Israel], she succeeded in that not just in life but in death also,” Imran said. Not letting her funeral proceed with respect … they have publicly exposed themselves for the world to see.”

The battle of narratives sparked by Abu Aqleh’s death is far from over. Palestinian officials have rejected the Israeli offer of a joint investigation, saying “criminals cannot be trusted”, leading Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett to accuse the Palestinians of denying Israel “access to the basic findings required to get to the truth”.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said during a state memorial for Abu Aqleh in the Palestinian town of Ramallah on Thursday that the case will be referred to the international criminal court, of which Israel is not a member and whose jurisdiction the state disputes.

An interim Israeli army investigation “could not determine” who fired the fatal bullet, an IDF statement said on Friday, while an initial probe by the Palestinian public prosecution found that “the only origin of the shooting was the Israeli occupation forces”.

In the meantime, even more so than during her career, Abu Aqleh’s fame has grown. Outside the reporter’s home in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem this week, neighbours and friends gathered daily to mourn her death despite a raid on the house on Wednesday by Israeli forces: many have put up pictures of her in their windows. On the quiet street outside, local children gather waving Palestinian flags.

“Shireen was a Christian and we are a Muslim family, but that didn’t matter,” one neighbour said. “She has united us.”

For the thousands of people who have thronged streets across the West Bank and Jerusalem this week in tribute, Abu Aqleh’s life and death has become a potent symbol.

“Shireen’s story is the story of the Palestinian people,” said Imran, the father of newborn Shireen. “She will never be forgotten, especially for our family. Every time we call her name we will remember.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/worl...sedgntp&cvid=5d5642484adf4a939c218f4bdeaf9c27

 

[Robert]

Layla Moran MP, who is half-Palestinian, asked an Urgent Question in Parliament of Foreign Secretary Truss today, demanding that the Israeli Ambassador be summoned to explain the actions of the police at the funeral.

Moran received a bland noncommittal answer.

 

[James]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This Palestinian American student carried the Palestinian flag and refused to shake the hand of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a graduation ceremony in protest to honour slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh <a href="https://t.co/A2F4hlFCio">pic.twitter.com/A2F4hlFCio</a></p>— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) <a href="https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1529017345603055617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[cric_man]

(CNN)Several shots ring out in quick succession, cutting through a clear, blue spring morning in Jenin, in the West Bank. Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack.

The cameraman filming the scene scrambles backwards to take cover behind a low concrete wall. Then a man cries out in Arabic: "Injured! Shireen, Shireen, oh man, Shireen! Ambulance!"

When the camera operator pans around the corner, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh can be seen lying motionless, face down on the ground as another Palestinian reporter, Shatha Hanaysha, crouches down beside her, using a tree trunk for cover. Hanaysha reaches out and tries to rouse her as gunshots continue. There's no response. Both women are wearing helmets and blue protective vests marked "Press."

In the moments that follow, a man in a white T-shirt makes several attempts to move Abu Akleh, but is forced back repeatedly by gunfire. Finally, after a few long minutes, he manages to drag her body from the street.

The shaky video, filmed by Al Jazeera cameraman Majdi Banura, captures the scene when Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American was killed by a bullet to the head at around 6:30 a.m. on May 11. She had been standing with a group of journalists near the entrance of Jenin refugee camp, where they had come to cover an Israeli raid. While the footage does not show Abu Akleh being shot, eyewitnesses told CNN that they believe Israeli forces on the same street fired deliberately on the reporters in a targeted attack. All of the journalists were wearing protective blue vests that identified them as members of the news media. ​

"We stood in front of the Israeli military vehicles for about five to ten minutes before we made moves to ensure they saw us. And this is a habit of ours as journalists, we move as a group and we stand in front of them so they know we are journalists, and then we start moving," Hanaysha told CNN, describing their cautious approach toward the Israeli army convoy, before the gunfire began.

When Abu Akleh was shot, Hanaysha said she was in shock. She couldn't understand what was happening. After Abu Akleh dropped to the ground, Hanaysha thought she might have stumbled. But when she looked down at the reporter she had idolized since childhood, it was clear she wasn't breathing. Blood was pooling under her head.

"As soon as she [Shireen] fell, I honestly wasn't comprehending that she [was shot] ... I was hearing the sound of bullets, but I wasn't comprehending that they were coming at us. Honestly, the whole time I wasn't understanding," she said.

"I thought they were shooting so we stayed back, I didn't think they were trying to kill us."

On the day of the shooting, Israeli military spokesperson Ran Kochav told Army Radio that Abu Akleh had been "filming and working for a media outlet amidst armed Palestinians. They're armed with cameras, if you'll permit me to say so," according to The Times of Israel.

The Israeli military says it is not clear who fired the fatal shot. In a preliminary inquiry, the army said there was a possibility Abu Akleh was hit either by indiscriminate Palestinian gunfire, or by an Israeli sniper positioned about 200 meters (about 656 feet) away in an exchange of fire with Palestinian gunmen — though neither Israel nor anyone else has provided evidence showing armed Palestinians within a clear line of fire from Abu Akleh.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on May 19 that it had not yet decided whether to pursue a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh's death. On Monday, the Israeli military's top lawyer, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, said in a speech that under the military's policy, a criminal investigation is not automatically launched if a person is killed in the "midst of an active combat zone," unless there is credible and immediate suspicion of a criminal offense. United States lawmakers, the United Nations and ​the international community ​have all called for an independent probe.

But an investigation by CNN offers new evidence — including two videos of the scene of the shooting — that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death. Videos obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight eyewitnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapons expert, suggest that Abu Akleh was shot dead in a targeted attack by Israeli forces.

The footage shows a calm scene before the reporters came under fire in the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp, near the main Awdeh roundabout. Hanaysha, four other journalists and three local residents said that it had been a normal morning in Jenin, home to about 345,000 people — 11,400 of whom live in the camp. Many were on their way to work or school, and the street was relatively quiet.
There was a frisson of excitement as the veteran journalist, a household name across the Arab world for her coverage of Israel and the Palestinian territories, arrived to report on the raid. About a dozen or so men, some dressed in sweats and flip-flops, had gathered to watch Abu Akleh and her colleagues at work. They were milling around chatting, some smoking cigarettes, others filming the scene on their phones.

In one 16-minute cellphone video shared with CNN, the man filming walks toward the spot where the journalists had gathered, zooming in on the Israeli armored vehicles parked in the distance, and says: "Look at the snipers." Then, when a teenager peers tentatively up the street, he shouts: "Don't kid around ... you think it's a joke? We don't want to die. We want to live."

Israeli raids on the Jenin refugee camp have become a regular occurrence since early April, in the wake of several attacks by Palestinians that left Israelis and foreigners dead. Some of the suspected assailants of those attacks were from Jenin, according to the Israeli military. Residents say the raids often lead to injuries and deaths. On Saturday, a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed and an 18-year-old was critically injured by Israeli fire during a raid, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Salim Awad, the 27-year-old Jenin camp resident who filmed the 16-minute video, told CNN that there were no armed Palestinians or any clashes in the area, and he hadn't expected there to be gunfire, given the presence of journalists nearby.
"There was no conflict or confrontations at all. We were about 10 guys, give or take, walking around, laughing and joking with the journalists," he said. "We were not afraid of anything. We didn't expect anything would happen, because when we saw journalists around, we thought it'd be a safe area."

Read more :

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/24/midd...nin-killing-investigation-cmd-intl/index.html

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ghufran Warasneh, Palestinian journalist shot dead today by the israelis. <a href="https://t.co/KRTmCmDZSn">pic.twitter.com/KRTmCmDZSn</a></p>— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) <a href="https://twitter.com/richimedhurst/status/1531998376425836544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

The Palestinian Authority on Sunday called on Israel to hand over the gun that allegedly fired the shot which killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.

Abu Akleh was shot and killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli army operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

A Palestinian probe said that an Israeli soldier shot dead the veteran Palestinian-American reporter, echoing findings by Al Jazeera and several other major news organisations.

Israel has asked the Palestinian Authority to provide the bullet extracted from her body so Israel can conduct its own ballistic investigation. Israel has offered to do so with Palestinian and American representatives present.

“We have refused to hand over the bullet to them, and we even demand that they hand over the weapon that murdered Shireen Abu Akleh,” Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said at a ceremony in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Sunday to mark 40 days since her death.

Israel’s army has said that it has not concluded whether Abu Akleh — who was wearing a bullet-proof vest marked “Press” when she was shot — was killed by one of its troops or stray Palestinian gunfire.

The army has maintained that no Israeli soldier fired at Abu Akleh knowing she was a journalist.

The Palestinian probe concluded that Abu Akleh was killed using a Ruger Mini-14, a semi-automatic weapon.

Israel’s army has said its investigation into her killing has centred on one soldier who fired near the area where Abu Akleh was killed.

Abu Akleh’s brother Anton told the Ramallah ceremony — where photos of the reporter were displayed — that the family was “only seeking justice for Shireen”.

Israel’s army has said it has not yet concluded whether one of its soldiers will face criminal charges over Abu Akleh’s killing.

But the army’s top lawyer has said such charges would be unlikely given the circumstances surrounding her killing that, according to the military, amounted to active combat.

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/midd...sedgntp&cvid=82d1a37ae7264fd8aa3fb2244a2ce2d5

 

[MenInG]

New York Times report: Bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh was fired from the approximate position of an Israeli military vehicle

WASHINGTON, Monday, June 20, 2022 (WAFA) - A New York Times investigation concluded that the bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was fired from “the approximate position of an Israeli military vehicle,” it said.

The New York Times report, titled “The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh: Tracing a Bullet to an Israeli Convoy” said that the bullet that killed Abu Akleh was most likely fired by a soldier from an elite unit.

“The evidence reviewed by The Times showed that there were no armed Palestinians near her when she was shot. It contradicted Israeli claims that, if a soldier had mistakenly killed her, it was because he had been shooting at a Palestinian gunman,” said the report.

http://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/129766

 

[KingKhanWC]

An American journalist murdered by Zionists doesnt get much attention. The killer will get his/her justice in hell I have no doubt.

 

[Firebat]

Is anyone still keeping track of Israeli war crimes? Seems an impossible job to be honest.

 

[MenInG]

The United Nations said Friday that its findings showed that the shot that killed Al Jazeera TV journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 was fired by Israeli forces.

The Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked "Press" and a helmet, was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli army operation in Jenin camp in the northern West Bank.

"We find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli security forces," UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

"It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation.

"We at the UN Human Rights Office have concluded our independent monitoring into the incident.

"The shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities," she said.

She added that the information came from the Israeli military and the Palestinian attorney general.

"We have found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists," Shamdasani said.

In line with its human rights monitoring methodology, the UN rights office inspected photo, video and audio material, visited the scene, consulted experts, reviewed official communications and interviewed witnesses.

The findings showed that seven journalists arrived at the western entrance of the Jenin refugee camp soon after 6:00 am.

At around 6:30 am, as four of the journalists turned into a particular street, "several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli security forces.

"One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder; another single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly."

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has urged Israel to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh's killing and into all other killings by Israeli forces in the West Bank and in the context of law enforcement operations in Gaza.

Express Tribune

 

[MenInG]

Israel said on Sunday it would test a bullet that killed a Palestinian-American journalist to determine whether one of its soldiers shot her and said a US observer would be present for the procedure that could deliver results within hours.

The Palestinians, who on Saturday handed over the bullet to a US security coordinator, said they had been assured that Israel would not take part in the ballistics.

Washington has yet to comment. The United States has a holiday weekend to mark July 4.

The May 11 death of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank, and feuding between the sides as to the circumstances, have overshadowed a visit by US President Joe Biden due this month.

The Palestinians accuse the Israeli military of killing her deliberately. Israel denies this, saying Abu Akleh may have been hit by errant army fire or by one of the Palestinian gunmen who were clashing with its forces.

“The (ballistic) test will not be American. The test will be an Israeli test, with an American presence throughout,” said Israeli military spokesman Brigadier-General Ran Kochav.

Read: Killing the truth: Shireen Abu Akleh's murder is a reminder that Israel will go to any length to silence its critics

“In the coming days or hours it will be become clear whether it was even us who killed her, accidentally, or whether it was the Palestinian gunmen,” he told Army Radio.

“If we killed her, we will take responsibility and feel regret for what happened.”

Akram al-Khatib, general prosecutor for the Palestinian Authority, said the test would take place at the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

“We got guarantees from the American coordinator that the examination will be conducted by them and that the Israeli side will not take part," Al-Khatib told Voice of Palestine radio, adding that he expected the bullet to be returned on Sunday.

An embassy spokesperson said: “We don't have anything new at this time.”

Biden is expected to hold separate meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders on July 13-16. The Abu Akleh case will be a diplomatic and domestic test for new Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

Israeli Deputy Internal Security Minister Yoav Segalovitz said Lapid had been involved in “managing the arrival and transfer of this bullet”.

“It will take a few days to conduct a ballistic test, with several experts, to ensure that there is an unequivocal assessment,” Segalovitz told Army Radio.

Reuters

 

[MenInG]

The bullet that killed American-Palestinian reporter Shireen Abu Akleh is too badly damaged to determine who fired the fatal shot, even though it was likely to have been an Israeli soldier, the US State Department said on Monday.

Abu Akleh, a veteran reporter on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was killed while covering an Israeli military raid against Palestinian militants near Jenin in the occupied West Bank on May 11. Palestinian authorities on Sunday said they had handed the bullet recovered during her postmortem to US investigators for analysis.

The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank says Abu Akleh was shot by an Israeli soldier, a claim backed by a UN investigation into the circumstances of her death. However, the PA refused to hand the bullet to Israel and said it would do so only to independent investigators.

Ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion

Ned Price, US State Department spokesman

State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday that "after an extremely detailed forensic analysis, independent, third-party examiners, as part of a process overseen by the US Security Co-ordinator, could not reach a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet".

"Ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion," he said in a statement.

US security officials examined the results of both Palestinian and Israeli investigations and “concluded that gunfire from [Israeli military] positions was likely responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh".

The US “found no reason to believe that this was intentional but rather the result of tragic circumstances during an [Israeli military]-led military operation,” he said.

A senior Palestinian official accused the US of protecting Israel after Mr Price announced the findings.

"The truth is clear but the US administration continues to stall in announcing it," Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, told Reuters.

"We say Israel killed Shireen Abu Akleh and it has to be held responsible for the crime it has committed."

The Israeli military said it would continue its investigation into the reporter's death.

A decision on whether to launch a criminal investigation will be made after the conclusion of its operational analysis, it said in a statement on Monday.

The military said the bullet was handed over to the US Security Co-ordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Saturday and tested by Israeli experts in the presence of USCC representatives at a forensic laboratory in Israel.

"The bullet remained under the custodianship of [US Army] Lt Gen Michael R Fenzel after receiving it from the Palestinian authorities until it was returned yesterday after the examination was conducted," the statement said.

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/midd...sedgntp&cvid=5a418ac9cc3f4599ba7cc45f0ce5149a

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Statement by our family. We will continue to call for justice and accountability and call upon the UN and ICC to take immediate action in order to bring justice. This doesn’t end here. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JusticeforShireen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JusticeforShireen</a> <a href="https://t.co/n0EoMmvRRY">pic.twitter.com/n0EoMmvRRY</a></p>— Lina Abu Akleh (@LinaAbuAkleh) <a href="https://twitter.com/LinaAbuAkleh/status/1543973877105164290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[SalimBhai]

Sorry to say, nothing will come out of it.

 

[James]

<b>Shireen Abu Akleh family’s letter to Joe Biden: Full text</b>

<I>Family of slain Palestinian-American journalist demand meeting with Biden and urge meaningful push for accountability.</I>

As Joe Biden prepares to embark on his first trip to Israel as US president, the family of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has sent him a letter laying out a list of demands to ensure accountability for her killing in the occupied West Bank in May.

The letter on Friday berated Biden for what it called efforts by his administration to “whitewash Shireen’s killing and perpetuate impunity” for Israeli forces who killed the journalist in May.

The Biden administration infuriated Palestinian rights and press freedom advocates when it released a statement saying the bullet that killed Abu Akleh “likely” came from an Israeli military position but dismissed the incident as the unintentional “result of tragic circumstances”.

Abu Akleh’s family called on the US administration to retract that statement, expressing “grief, outrage and sense of betrayal” with Biden.


<b>Below is the full text of the family’s letter.</b>

Dear Mr. President:

We, the family of Shireen Abu Akleh, write to express our grief, outrage and sense of betrayal concerning your administration’s abject response to the extrajudicial killing of our sister and aunt by Israeli forces on May 11, 2022, while on assignment in the occupied Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank.

Shireen was a prominent, beloved Palestinian journalist. She was a role model and a mentor to aspiring Palestinian female journalists, and a trusted colleague of many in the local and international media. She was also a United States citizen. Despite wearing a protective helmet and blue bulletproof vest clearly marked as “PRESS,” Shireen was murdered by an Israeli-fired bullet to the head. Israeli forces continued to fire live rounds as bystanders– including other members of the press–tried to render assistance. Then, as we and hundreds of others gathered to begin her funeral procession, Israeli forces attacked us, beating mourners and pallbearers, violently disrupting the dignified burial procession she deserved.

In the days and weeks since an Israeli soldier killed Shireen, not only have we not been adequately consulted, informed, and supported by U.S. government officials, but your administration’s actions exhibit an apparent intent to undermine our efforts toward justice and accountability for Shireen’s death. Investigations conducted by the United Nations, the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, the Associated Press, Bellingcat, and B’Tselem all concluded an Israeli soldier fired the shot that killed Shireen. All available evidence suggests that Shireen, a U.S. citizen, was the subject of an extrajudicial killing, yet your administration has thoroughly failed to meet the bare minimum expectation held by a grieving family—to ensure a prompt, thorough, credible, impartial, independent, effective and transparent investigation that leads to true justice and accountability for Shireen’s killing.

Instead, the United States has been skulking toward the erasure of any wrongdoing by Israeli forces. From the failure to immediately ensure an independent and impartial investigation, to the rushed hand-off of the bullet that killed Shireen without consultation let alone allowing us to have a representative present, which culminated in the July 4 statement adopting the conclusions and talking points of the Israeli government, your administration’s engagement has served to whitewash Shireen’s killing and perpetuate impunity. Little information has been shared on who oversaw the American “summation” of investigations, who participated in the ballistics assessment, or any specific individual qualifications or findings leading to the conclusions issued by your administration. It is as if you expect the world and us to now just move on. Silence would have been better.

You have made clear that your administration is willing to abdicate its responsibility concerning Israel’s extrajudicial killing of Shireen. The July 4 press statement by Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price announced that Shireen’s killing was likely unintentional, yet when pressed by reporters during the July 5 press briefing, Mr. Price conceded that nobody present was qualified to reach a conclusion about intent. He also clarified that the United States government did not, in fact, conduct its own investigation, let alone legal analysis, and that the Department of State was content with merely “summarizing”—and adopting—Israeli authorities’ investigation. Nonetheless, your administration deemed it necessary to include and perpetuate the baseless and damaging conclusion that the killing was not intentional, seemingly choosing political expedience over actual accountability for a foreign government’s killing of a U.S. citizen.

We remind you that on May 11, the day an Israeli soldier killed Shireen, Mr. Price stood at the Department of State podium to strongly condemn her killing and call for “an immediate and thorough investigation and full accountability.” Then, on July 5, that call for full accountability was reduced to nothing more than a contorted statement that Israel “soon will be in a position to consider steps to further safeguard noncombatants.” We are incredulous that such an expectation would be the pinnacle of your administration’s response to the killing of Shireen. Israeli forces have for long known no bounds, perpetrating war crimes and killing Palestinian civilians with impunity, including those clearly identifiable as children, medical personnel and journalists. Israeli officials and armed forces are enabled and empowered by unconditional U.S.-sourced weapons and financial assistance and then provided with near absolute diplomatic support to shield Israeli officials from any accountability.

Since Israeli forces killed our Shireen, lawmakers have pressed you to deliver on the strong condemnation and call for “full accountability” concerning Shireen’s death. On May 19, 57 members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray to demand the State Department and the FBI launch an investigation into the killing of Shireen. On June 6, Sens. Jon Ossof and Mitt Romney sent a letter to Secretary Blinken insisting that the administration ensure a “full and transparent investigation and accountability”. On June 23, Senator Chris Van Hollen and 23 of his Senate colleagues sent you a letter demanding you ensure the direct involvement of the United States in the investigation of Shireen’s killing, stressing the importance of an independent, thorough, and transparent investigation.

We reaffirm these demands on behalf of our beloved Shireen as your administration’s actions to date have not only fallen woefully short of “full accountability” but they amount to express acceptance for Shireen’s killing. Your administration’s actions can only be seen as an attempt to erase the extrajudicial killing of Shireen and further entrench the systemic impunity enjoyed by Israeli forces and officials for unlawfully killing Palestinians.

We call on you to:

Meet with us during your upcoming visit and hear directly from us about our concerns and demands for justice.
Provide us with all of the information gathered by your administration to date concerning Shireen’s killings, including any evidence reviewed and assessed by U.S. officials, the identities and qualifications of all individuals present during the latest review of evidence, any forensics reports or other information that has not been provided to us or our legal team.

Retract the Department of State’s July 4 press statement, given that the Department’s own account indicates that it is not based on any credible assessment.
Direct the Department of Justice, including the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other relevant U.S. offices or agencies to take action on Shireen’s extrajudicial killing.
Finally, and it should be needless to say, we expect the Biden administration support our efforts to push for accountability and justice for Shireen, wherever they take us.

Sincerely,

Anton Abu Akleh

On behalf of the Abu Akleh Family

CC: Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken


https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/8/shireen-abu-aklehs-family-letter-to-joe-biden-full-text

 

[MenInG]

The Israeli military has concluded there is a "high probability" that one of its soldiers killed the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqla.

The veteran Al Jazeera correspondent was shot in the head while covering a raid in the occupied West Bank in May.

It is the closest the military has come to admitting responsibility.

The military's top legal officer has also ruled out a criminal investigation of the soldiers involved, effectively ending the probe into the case.

Abu Aqla's family said they were "not surprised" that the IDF was trying to obscure the truth and avoid responsibility for her killing.

Abu Aqla arrived in Jenin refugee camp on 11 May to report on an Israeli army raid which had seen gun battles break out between soldiers and Palestinian militants. She was wearing a helmet and blue flak jacket marked with the word "press".

The military's account of how she was killed has been the subject of bitter recriminations.

Eyewitnesses and Palestinian officials reported she was shot by Israeli troops - a finding later backed by the United Nations and multiple press investigations of the evidence. A US review also found it was "likely" that Israeli soldiers fired the fatal bullet.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had completed several internal probes.

A senior IDF official said on Monday that there was a high probability that she was shot "by mistake by an IDF soldier, and of course he didn't identify her as a journalist".

He also revealed investigators had spoken to the soldier involved: "He told us what he did; and if he did it, it was done by mistake."

"I want to emphasise the fighting environment that these soldiers were under. They were confined in a protected vehicle with multi-dimensional fire from every direction," the official said.

However, video evidence from the moment Abu Aqla was shot does not back the claim of militant gunfire in the spot that journalists and bystanders had gathered.

Israeli troops were believed to be 200m (656ft) away, and the footage shows repeated fire for several minutes towards the area where the journalists were walking.

Asked by the BBC about the footage, the senior IDF official said soldiers were under fire and could not see what was happening from inside their jeep, adding they could not see the journalists gathered.

The lack of a criminal investigation will anger Palestinians and will come as a further blow to Abu Aqla's family.

Responding to the IDF announcement they said: "It's obvious to anyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. However, we remain deeply hurt, frustrated, and disappointed."

Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups have long criticised the IDF's mechanism for internal investigations, arguing that it grants soldiers near total impunity when it comes to prosecution in cases of harming Palestinians.

The IDF had been intensifying its search, arrest and punitive home demolition raids in the West Bank after a wave of attacks carried out by Palestinians and Arab Israelis on the streets of Israel which killed 18 people. Some of the perpetrators came from Jenin. An Israeli officer was shot dead in Jenin later in May.

Israeli officials, including then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, initially claimed Abu Aqla was probably shot by Palestinian gunmen.

As pressure grew for a transparent investigation, the IDF later said that fire from Israeli soldiers was one of two "possibilities" accounting for her death, the other being fire from Palestinian militants.

The 51-year-old correspondent was admired by Palestinians and the wider Arab world for three decades of coverage from the region. Her killing gained global attention and became a symbol of the often under-reported dangers faced by civilians during Israeli military incursions.

Earlier this year, her family called for full accountability, including a criminal investigation. Her brother Tony told the BBC in July that she was "assassinated by extrajudicial killing, and we simply need someone to be held accountable".

Questions were quickly raised about the IDF's internal probe.

In the hours after her death Israeli officials publicly circulated speculation which wrongly implied specific Palestinian gunmen could have shot her, including video from Jenin camp from a different location to her killing.

Meanwhile, the IDF accused Palestinian officials of obstructing an inquiry, demanding they hand over the bullet which it said could determine if their troops had fired the fatal shot. The Palestinians in turn said the Israelis could not be trusted.

A Palestinian Authority inquiry based on an autopsy and their examination of the bullet found that "the only source of firing was by the [Israeli] occupation forces with the aim to kill".

There were growing calls for the US administration to become involved.

In May, dozens of Congressional lawmakers signed a letter to the FBI and the state department demanding a probe by American law enforcement agencies.

The US state department put pressure on the Palestinians to release the bullet. That took place in July, but the US administration said a forensic analysis conducted by "independent examiners" could not reach a definitive conclusion because the bullet was too badly damaged.

The US also said a review of the Israeli and Palestinian probes by the US security co-ordinator concluded that "gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Aqla."

The US described her death as the result of "tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation", adding that it found "no reason to believe" that the shooting was intentional.

Her brother told the BBC the family had been "abandoned" by the US administration when President Joe Biden visited the region in July. He urged FBI investigators to travel to investigate her killing.

The family later met US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington DC but said the administration had still not "meaningfully answered" their calls for justice.''

BBC

 

[MenInG]

The family of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh — who was likely killed by an Israeli soldier — on Tuesday praised a US decision to open a probe into her death.

“This is an important step,” a statement from the Palestinian-American family said, voicing hope for a “truly independent, credible and thorough probe”.

Abu Akleh was killed while covering an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank on May 11.

The veteran Al Jazeera reporter was wearing a bulletproof vest marked “Press” and a helmet when she was shot in the head in the Jenin refugee camp, a historic flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


The Israeli army conceded on September 5 that one of its soldiers had likely shot Abu Akleh after having mistaken her for a militant.

The Abu Akleh family statement noted that it had been asking for a US probe “since the beginning”.

“It is what the United States should do when a US citizen is killed abroad, especially when they were killed — like Shireen — by a foreign military,” they added.

Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Israel “will not cooperate with an external investigation”.

“The decision taken by the US Justice Department to conduct an investigation into the tragic passing of Shireen Abu Akleh, is a mistake. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has conducted a professional, independent investigation, which was presented to American officials with whom the case details were shared,” Gantz said in a statement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has refused to confirm or deny the investigation.

However, Politico reported that the FBI was probing the May 11 shooting.

No prosecution

The Israeli army’s top lawyer has said that criminal charges against the soldier likely involved in the shooting were not merited, as the individual was acting in what Israel considered to be an active combat zone.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid has also rejected suggestions that the soldier should be prosecuted.

“I will not allow an IDF soldier that was protecting himself from terrorist fire to be prosecuted just to receive applause from abroad,” Lapid said at a military ceremony.

Last week, Abu Akleh’s family and colleagues told UN investigators that she had been deliberately targeted as part of Israel’s “wide-scale war” on Palestinian media workers, and called for accountability and justice.

Doha-based Al Jazeera and the Qatari state have also alleged that Abu Akleh was deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers.

 

[ex-q-zit]

Al Jazeera Sues Israel Army In World Court Over Journalist's Death

Dubai: Al Jazeera on Tuesday said it filed a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court against Israeli forces over the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot during an Israeli raid in the West Bank in May.

The lawsuit comes after a investigation by the television news network's legal team on the case, Al Jazeera said on Twitter.

NDTV

 

[Poseidon]

that was very horrific and Condemnable act , but wonder why our Indian PPers didnt visited this thread .

 

[MenInG]

Israel has apologised for the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was shot and killed in the West Bank.

Ms Abu Akleh was shot in the back of the head while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the West Bank last May.

She had covered the West Bank for the satellite channel for two decades and was well known across the Arab world.

After changing its version of what happened several times, Israel's military said Ms Abu Akleh, who was wearing a clearly marked protective press vest and helmet, was likely unintentionally shot by an Israeli soldier but could have also been hit by Palestinian fire.

Witnesses have said there were no Palestinian fighters firing in the area where Ms Abu Akleh was standing, and her family and Palestinian officials believe Israeli forces killed her deliberately.

In an interview, the Israeli Defence Force’s (IDF)chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, issued an apology for the journalist’s death a year after the incident took place.

“I think it’s an opportunity for me to say here that we are very sorry of the death of Shireen Abu Akleh,” he told CNN’s Eleni Giokos.

“She was a journalist, a very established journalist. In Israel we value our democracy and in a democracy we see high value in journalism and in a free press.

“We want journalists to feel safe in Israel, especially in war time, even if they criticise us.”

The apology comes following a report from The Committee to Protect Journalists which claimed the Israeli military has killed 20 journalists since 2001 and amid heightened tensions in Gaza. It found that no one has been charged or held accountable for the deaths.

"Shireen's killers are free, they haven't been held accountable. Nothing was done to deter them from targeting journalists and killing them in the same way," said journalist Najwan Simri, who was a close friend to Ms Abu Akleh.

Israel insists that its soldiers do not deliberately target journalists and has refused to identify the soldier who probably shot Ms Abu Akleh.

Naftali Bennett, who was Israel's prime minister when Ms Abu Akleh was killed, said last week that soldiers should not be prosecuted when civilians are not killed deliberately.

"If there's a battle going on and there's collateral damage that is not deliberate, then no. Otherwise, what you would do is shackle all the hands of fighters," he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/news...p&cvid=bbaa9d148c8241e4b18193e3fecee4a3&ei=11