Palestinian Authority President Accuses Israeli Forces of ‘Killing’ Al Jazeera Reporter
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Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Friday accused the Israeli Defense Forces of killing Shireen Abu Akleh, a U.S. citizen and veteran Al Jazeera reporter who died covering an IDF operation in the West Bank on Wednesday.
Akleh, 51, was shot in on Wednesday morning during an IDF raid on a compound in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank. Two other reporters and a producer who were with Akleh claimed that Israeli forces fired upon them, despite wearing bulletproof vests emblazoned with the words “Press” in reflective letters.
She was rushed to the al-Najah University hospital in nearby Nablus in critical condition, but later succumbed to her injuries. Rayyan al-Ali, head of the hospital’s forensic division, said that Akleh had been shot in the head, and that she had not been shot at close range. A spokesman for the Palestinian Government called the act an “Israeli sniper attack.”
Another Al Jazeera reporter, Ali al-Samoudi, was shot in the back during the incident, but is reported to be in stable condition.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz had initially suggested that Akleh was shot by Palestinian militants but has since backtracked on that claim. “We are trying to figure out exactly what happened,” he said. “I don’t have final conclusions.” He said the U.S. Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem had been notified of Akleh’s death.
Gantz had also proposed a joint investigation into Akleh’s death, an offer that was refused by Abbas, who promised to take Israel to the International Criminal Court over the incident. He further said that forensic assistance would be sought from the U.S. and Qatar to investigate the killing. The IDF, however, independently launched an investigation of its personnel who were firing at the scene, though it did not suggest the men had fired at Akleh.
Akleh’s funeral was held on Friday in Jerusalem’s Old City at the Roman Catholic Church of Bab al-Khalil, after a procession led by family and friends from the French Hospital of East Jerusalem attended by thousands of Palestinians. She was later laid to rest at Mount Zion Protestant Cemetery.
Akleh’s death has sharply divided international public opinion. Three U.N. special rapporteurs called her death a “killing” and an “attack on media freedom and the freedom of expression.” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, meanwhile, accused Palestinian authorities of obstructing the investigation and hindering efforts to find “the truth.” In Berlin, German authorities shut down a planned vigil for Akleh by the Jüdische Stimme, a Jewish pro-Palestinian group, arguing that the event posed an “immediate risk” of violence. Other vigils for Akleh’s death were held in cities worldwide.
In the U.S. Congress, many lawmakers condemned Akleh’s death as an assault on press freedom, and urged an independent investigation into the incident, which was also urged by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), however, said Akleh was “murdered by an apartheid government,” and called on President Joe Biden to halt military aid to Israel, a demand echoed by other Democratic lawmakers.
Akleh’s death comes after a wave of violence across the West Bank, ignited by Israeli police arresting a protester at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, a holy site for both Jews and Muslims.
