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Israeli forces have once again sparked outrage following the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Al Jazeera reporter and one of the most prominent and admired journalists in the Arab world.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the news of Akleh’s death, saying that Israeli forces killed the veteran Al Jazeera journalist with a live bullet on Wednesday.
Abu Akleh was covering Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank, the ministry noted, adding that she was murdered despite wearing her press vest and helmet. The journalist was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being critically wounded, and she was later pronounced dead by the personnel.
A Jerusalem-born reporter, 51-year-old Shireen Abu Akleh studied architecture in Jordan before joining Yarmouk University in the same country to pursue her journalism career.
Following her graduation, she went back to Palestine, where she served as a journalist in local media.
She joined Al Jazeera in 1997, where she established herself as one of the most well-known and admired reporters of the Arab world.
Photos and videos documenting the killing of the journalist have gone viral online.
The death of the much-admired and revered Palestinian journalist has left many shocked across the world.
“The brilliant journalist Shreen Abu Akleh was executed today with cold hands by Israeli Army, even though she was wearing a press label,” said one comment onTwitter.
Killing a journalist by shooting her by a direct sniper while she was obviously wearing her bullet proof Blue press jacket is just showing how criminal, inhuman & cruel they are!!
This is their culture & this is what they spreading all over the world!#شيرين_ابو_عاقلة RIP pic.twitter.com/QYLjLrZwWs— ✨MAYSSI✨ (@Mayssi_) May 11, 2022
“The daughter of Jerusalem, the Knight of the Truth. There is no immunity for any Palestinian, even if he is to be protected by international laws. A paramedic, a journalist, there is no difference — all are legitimate targets, without money, not even accountability,” noted another Twitter user.
According to Al Jazeera, gunshots by Israeli troops also injured one of its journalists named Ali Samoudi.
Samoudi was shot in the back, Al Jazeera reported, adding: “He is now in a stable condition, and said that there were no Palestinian fighters present when the journalists were shot, directly disputing an Israeli statement that referenced the possibility.”
The wounded Al Jazeera journalist emphasized that he and Shireen were going to film “the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming.”
Another Palestinian journalist, Shatha Hanaysha, confirmed that there were no confrontations between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli troops during the killing of Shireen Akleh.
“We were four journalists, we were all wearing vests, all wearing helmets,” Hanaysha told Al Jazeera.
“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. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.”
