Arab Times

Al-Jazeera reporter killed in raid

Kuwait condemns ‘assassinat­ion’

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KUWAIT CITY, May 11, (Agencies): The State of Kuwait condemned, in the strongest terms, the Israeli occupiers’ assassinat­ion of Palestinia­n journalist Shereen Abu-Aqleh and the injury of her colleague at a refugee camp near Jenin city, saying that this heinous act violated internatio­nal laws and norms.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry held the Israeli occupiers responsibl­e for this crime, which came in contrast with freedom of speech and journalist­ic integrity, stressing that the assassinat­ion was part of a long history of inhumane treatment perpetrate­d against the Palestinia­n people.

The Internatio­nal community must hold the Israeli occupying forces responsibl­e for crimes committed against the Palestinia­n people, providing them with protection within the parameters of internatio­nal and humanitari­an laws, added the statement.

The Foreign Ministry expressed Kuwait’s sincere condolence­s over the assassinat­ion of Abu-Aqleh and hoped for the swift recovery of her colleague involved in the Jenin incident.

The assassinat­ion of AbuAqleh reflected the brutal and horrific nature of the Israeli occupation over Palestinia­n lands, said Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim Wednesday.

Via his official twitter account, Speaker Al-Ghanim said that the murder of Abu-Aqleh displayed “the weakness and humiliatin­g nature of the Zionist entity, which fears words of truth and reality.”

Abu-Aqleh was killed while on duty in uncovering the horrific facts and acts of the brutal Israeli occupation, affirmed Al-Ghanim, which refuted Israeli accusation­s of so-called “terrorism” when it came to Palestinia­ns right to fight back.

Encouraged

The top Kuwaiti lawmaker encouraged Palestinia­n journalist­s and media personnel to continue their quest for truth and justice against the Israeli oppressors.

Abu Aqleh was shot and killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday. The broadcaste­r and a reporter who was wounded in the incident blamed Israeli forces.

The Israel army initially raised the possibilit­y that Abu Aqleh might have killed by stray Palestinia­n fire, saying militants were also present in the area, However, army chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi later stepped back from that assertion, saying that “at this stage, we cannot determine by whose fire she was harmed and we regret her death.”

Abu Aqleh, 51, was a respected and familiar face in the Middle East, known for her coverage of the harsh realities of Israel’s military occupation for the past three decades. Her death reverberat­ed across the region and set alight social media. She reported for Al Jazeera’s Arabic language channel and was also a U.S. citizen. The State Department called her death “an affront to media freedom.”

She was fatally shot in the head early Wednesday on the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank. Her producer, Palestinia­n journalist Ali Samoudi, was hospitaliz­ed in stable condition after being shot in the back.

Al Jazeera accused Israel of “deliberate­ly targeting and killing our colleague.” Palestinia­n journalist­s who were with Abu Akleh at the time said they made their presence known to Israeli soldiers, and that they did not see militants in the area.

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 was investigat­ing “and looking into the possibilit­y that the journalist­s were hit by the Palestinia­n gunmen.”

Kochavi, the army chief, said a special team had been formed to investigat­e.

Israel released a video of Palestinia­n gunmen firing in an alley of the Jenin camp, later saying the video was meant to bolster its contention that Palestinia­ns were firing in the area.

However, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem released its own video casting doubt on those claims.

The B’Tselem video was taken by one of its researcher­s who walked between the location of the militants in the video and where Abu Aqleh was shot. It also provided coordinate­s for the two locations. They appeared to be about 300 meters (330 yards) apart and separated by walls and buildings.

Dror Sadot, a spokeswoma­n for the group, said its evidence shows “there is no way” that the gunfire shown in the video killed Abu Aqleh. “There is no clear shot,” she said.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett noted that in the video, a militant is heard shouting that a soldier has been wounded. Because no Israelis were hurt, he said that suggested the gunmen had shot a journalist instead.

Abu Aqleh was born in Jerusalem and began working for Al Jazeera in 1997. She regularly reported from across the Palestinia­n territorie­s, making her a well-known face on televiA

sion screens across the Arab world. A Palestinia­n boy was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces in the city of Al-Bireh, Palestinia­n Ministry of Health (MoH) announced Wednesday.

Thayer Al-Yazouri, 18, was killed after being directly shot in the heart by the occupation soldiers at Jabal Al-Tawil area, the ministry pointed out in a statement.

Clashes between several Palestinia­n young men and the occupation army took place near the settlement of Psagot in Al-Bireh City, which injured the young man who was transferre­d to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah where he was declared dead, eyewitness­es said.

According to the ministry’s statistics, this increases the number of Palestinia­n deaths since the beginning of this year to 52.

Also:

BRUSSELS: Kuwait has once again stressed its unwavering support to the Palestinia­n people and reiterated calls for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinia­n and Arab territorie­s occupied since 1967.

“Kuwait has been a steadfast in its multiprong­ed backing of the Palestinia­n people and will continue to do so to ensure the support they get the support they desperatel­y need,” Kuwait’s ambassador to the EU, NATO and Belgium, Jasem Al-Budaiwi, told an internatio­nal donor meeting on Palestine in Brussels Tuesday evening.

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 ?? ?? Left: Slain Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh is carried by a Palestinia­n honor guard in the West Bank city of Nablus, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. She was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday. Right: In this undated photo provided by Al Jazeera Media Network, Shireen Abu Aqleh, stands in an area where the Dome of the Rock shrine at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem is seen at right in the background. (AP)
Left: Slain Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh is carried by a Palestinia­n honor guard in the West Bank city of Nablus, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. She was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday. Right: In this undated photo provided by Al Jazeera Media Network, Shireen Abu Aqleh, stands in an area where the Dome of the Rock shrine at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem is seen at right in the background. (AP)

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