TRIBUTE TO HEROINE
PALESTINIAN journalists hold portraits of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in Jenin, in the West Bank city of Hebron yesterday. According to the Palestinian health ministry, Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli forces during a raid. Evidence has emerged that Abu Akleh, who was killed in the Israeli raid on the West Bank town was targeted deliberately, the head of the International Federation of Journalists said. But the Israeli Defence Force insisted yesterday that Abu Akleh was killed by Palestinian fire during the raid. Abu Akleh’s fellow Al Jazeera journalist Nida Ibrahim said she was shot in the head. The journalist died in hospital shortly after being admitted in a critical condition. Israel has blamed Palestinian gunmen for her death, however, Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau chief Walid al-Omary said that there had been no shooting by Palestinians.
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 however said 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 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,” he said. 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”.
The fatal shooting comes nearly a year after an Israeli air strike destroyed a Gaza building that housed the offices of Al Jazeera and news agency AP.
Israel has said the building also hosted offices used by key members of the Hamas Islamist group, which controls the Israeli-blockaded Gaza strip.
Tensions have risen in recent months as Israel has grappled with a wave of attacks which has killed at least 18 people since March 22, including an Arab-Israeli police officer and two Ukrainians.
An 18-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops during clashes near Ramallah yesterday. The army said its forced had used rubber bullets.
Yesterday’s deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed since March 22 to 31, according to a tally.
Three Israeli Arabs have died during the same period, according to a tally, among them perpetrators of attacks and those killed by Israeli security forces in West Bank operations.
Al Jazeera’s newsdesk had told Abu Akleh they would keep a spot for her “at the top of the hour” after she said in an email she was going to cover an Israeli operation in the Palestinian town of Jenin.
“But she never turned up,” said Mohamed Moawad, the Arabic channel’s head of output, fighting back tears. “The last communication was 20 minutes before this heinous crime happened,” Moawad said.
Instead of her live report from the raid, Al Jazeera staff were shaken to see social media images indicating she had been shot. Moawad said another journalist soon sent a message informing them she had died 3km from the edge of Jenin in the West Bank.
“We consider this something intentional because the bullet hit exactly the area below her ear where there is no cover,” said Moawad, who added that “reckless” comments had been made in Israel about the killing.
Abu Akleh, the second journalist hired by Al Jazeera in the Palestinian territories, became the 12th journalist from the channel to be killed on duty.