Outrage over Al Jazeera reporter’s assassination
INTERNATIONA broadcaster Al
a eera accused the Israeli military of murder on Wednesday following the death of its veteran reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in the northern West Bank city of enin during an Israeli army operation.
In a strongly worded statement, Al a eera made clear it holds Israel responsible.
“In a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al aeera’s correspondent in Palestine, Shireen Abu Akleh.” Abu Akleh was “conducting her journalistic duty, clearly wearing a press jacket that identifies her a journalist,” the statement continued.
“Al a eera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty.”
The US embassy in Israel confirmed that the 51-year-old, a well known journalist in the Arab
world, was also a US citi en.
“We were deeply saddened to learn of the loss of American and Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh today in enin,” an embassy spokesperson said, calling for a “swift, thorough, and transparent investigation.”
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called the killing of Abu Akleh a “horrific tragedy”. In a statement on Twitter, Pelosi said a “thorough, objective investigation is needed now”.
The European Union condemned the shooting, EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said in a statement, and said that a “thorough, independent investigation” into the killing was essential to bring those responsible to justice.
“It is unacceptable” to target journalists doing their job, the statement added. “ournalists covering con ict situations must be ensured safety and protection at all times.”
A journalist from the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds, Ali alSamoudi,
also suffered gunshot injuries in the enin incident, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Al Samoudi claimed that he and other journalists had been deliberately shot at by Israeli troops.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the incident an “execution.” The Islamist Hamas movement, which controls the Ga a Strip, condemned the killing “in the strongest terms,” calling it an “assasination.”
UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland condemned the killing and called for “an immediate and full investigation.” The US and Arab eague also called for an investigation.
The Arab eague blamed “Israeli bullets” for the journalist’s death.
Al a eera said that Abu Akleh, who came from East erusalem originally and had been working for Al a eera for over 20 years, was wearing a jacket clearly marked with the word “press” as she covered the raid.