A journalist for Al Jazeera was fatally shot in the West Bank city of Jenin early Wednesday, the news network and the Palestinian health ministry said, blaming Israeli forces for her death. (Read More Here).
The circumstances surrounding the shooting of the journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American, were not immediately clear but it happened during clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinian gunmen in the city. Al Jazeera, citing the health ministry, said the journalist had been shot in the head by Israeli forces during a raid.
“Al Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen,” the news network said in a statement. “It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable.”
The Israeli military said on Twitter that it was investigating the possibility that journalists had been injured, “possibly by Palestinian armed gunfire.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement it “appears likely” armed Palestinians were responsible for Abu Akleh’s death.
“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 prime minister said in a statement Wednesday.
The prime minister’s office released a video showing people running in the Jenin refugee camp, shouting about a soldier being hit. CNN has not been able to independently verify that the video is connected to Abu Akleh’s death. “No IDF soldier was injured, which increases the possibility that Palestinian terrorists were the ones who shot the journalist,” Bennett said.
Abu Akleh was wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest, with “press” clearly written on it, when she was shot.
Tributes started pouring in for Abu Akleh as news of her death spread.
Abu Akleh’s colleague, Nida Ibrahim, said she was a “very well respected journalist” who had been working with Al Jazeera since the beginning of the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000, according to the network.
“As you can imagine, this is a shock to the journalists who have been working with her,” Ibrahim said, in tears.
Abu Akleh was born and raised in Jerusalem and belonged to a Christian family, according to Bir Zeit University, where she was a teacher. She was 51, according to the university.
“She initially studied architecture at the University of Science and Technology in Jordan, then moved to the written journalism specialization, and obtained a bachelor’s degree from Yarmouk University in Jordan,” according to her university bio.
She had worked with UNRWA, Voice of Palestine Radio, Amman Satellite Channel, the Miftah Foundation and Monte Carlo Radio before joining Al Jazeera.
Information reads: “Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American journalist for Al Jazeera, was shot and killed in the West Bank early Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said. The circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately clear.”
Video below:
Warning: Graphic video
Clearly depicts continued Israeli firing after Shireen Abu Akleh went down. Screams of “Ambulance”. One man tries to retrieve Shireen, others scream at him to move back from Israeli sniper range.
— لينة (@LinahAlsaafin) May 11, 2022
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