Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh gunned down

VETERAN Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, a Palestinian-american who was among the network’s most prominent figures, was shot dead yesterday as she covered an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank.

The Qatar-based TV channel said Israeli forces shot Abu Aqleh, 51, deliberately and “in cold blood” while she was covering unrest in the Jenin refugee camp.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, however, it was “likely” that Palestinian gunfire killed her.

Another Al Jazeera journalist, producer Ali al-samudi, was wounded in the incident, the broadcaster added.

An AFP photographer said Abu Aqleh was wearing a press flak jacket when she was shot. The photographer reported that Israeli forces were firing in the area and then saw Abu Aqleh’s body lying on the ground.

There were no Palestinian gunmen visible in the area when Abu Aqleh was killed, the photographer added.

The Israeli army confirmed it had conducted an operation in the camp early yesterday but denied that it had deliberately targeted a reporter.

The army said there was an exchange of fire between suspects and security forces and that it was “investigating the event and looking into the possibility that journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen”.

“The (army) of course does not aim at journalists,” a military official said.

A statement from Al Jazeera said: “The Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Palestine.”

It called on the international community to hold the Israeli forces accountable for their “intentional targeting and killing” of the journalist.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israel was seeking a “joint pathological investigation into the sad death of journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh”.

“Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth,” Lapid said.

Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-sheikh said there had been no contact from Israel about any joint probe and held Israel “responsible” for Abu Aqleh’s killing.

In a sign of her prominence in the West Bank, residents laid flowers on the roadside as the vehicle carrying her body moved towards Nablus, where an autopsy was scheduled before her burial in her native Jerusalem.

US ambassador to Israel Tomas Nides called for a “thorough investigation” into the killing of the Us|palestinian citizen.

The Israeli premier said: “According to the information we’ve gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians, who were indiscriminately firing at the time, were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist.”

The wounded Al Jazeera producer, Samudi, said there were no Palestinian fighters in the area where Abu Aqleh was shot. “If there were resistance fighters, we would not have gone into the area.”

Samudi told the Palestinian newspaper Ma’an that he and the reporters were wearing their helmets and press vests at the time of the shooting.

He said it took place near the camp’s UN schools, far from the presence of any armed men.

Samudi said that as Israeli soldiers surrounded one of the homes in the Jenin camp to carry out an arrest, the soldiers fired indiscriminately, leading to a number of serious injuries and an outbreak of clashes with residents.

Atah Abu-rumeleh, a doctor in Jenin who said he witnessed the shooting, said there had been no exchange of fire before the journalists were shot.

“It was a clear day, and the sun was shining,” he said. “A sniper from somewhere shot Shireen in the head. And Ali Samudi was also hit.”

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, called Abu Akleh the “most prominent Palestinian journalist and a close friend”.

“Now we will hear the ‘concerns’ of the UK government the international community,” he wrote on Twitter.

In recent weeks, the army has stepped up operations in Jenin, a historic flashpoint in the Israeli-palestinian conflict.

Several of the suspects blamed for deadly attacks on Israelis in recent weeks were from the area.

The army said that during its operation in the camp, “massive fire was shot toward Israeli forces by tens of armed Palestinian gunmen”.

People in the camp “also hurled explosive devices toward the soldiers, endangering their lives”.

“The soldiers responded with fire toward the sources of the fire and explosive devices.”