Calls are growing for an independent probe into the murder of Al Jazeera veteran reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. The 51 year old Palestinian-American journalist was shot and killed, reportedly by Israeli forces, during a raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin on early Wednesday, May 11.
Palestinian-American Shireen Abuh Akleh Shot & Killed In West Bank
Abu Akleh was shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid on the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp in northern West Bank. The Israel army initially claimed that the respected journalist might have been killed by stray Palestinian fire, further claiming that their militants were also present in the area at the time of her death.
However, Abu Akleh’s producer, Palestinian journalist Ali Samoudi, was also present and even wounded in the incident. Samoudi, who was shot in the back and currently in the hospital in stable condition, has blamed Israeli forces.
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Israeli Forces Claimed Palestinians Were Responsible
The Israeli military claimed its forces were under attack with heavy gunfire and explosives as they were operating a mission in Jenin, so they fired back.
The Israeli army first said that they were investigating “and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”
After the Israeli army’s initial claim of Palestinians being responsible for Abu Akleh’s death, Army Chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi later withdrew the statements, adding that “at this stage, we cannot determine by whose fire she was harmed and we regret her death.”
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Al Jazeera Accuses Israeli Forces For Killing Their Colleague
Al Jazeera is accusing Israel of “deliberately targeting and killing our colleague” in addition to Abu Akleh and her producer, other Palestinian journalists were with them and they said that at the time, they all made their presence known to Israeli soldiers, and add that they did not see any Palestinian militants in the area.
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Who was Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh?
Abu Akleh worked as a reporter for the Arabic-language channel Al Jazeera for 25 years and was a household name across the Middle East.
She was known for her decades-long reporting in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories; covering the harsh realities of Israel’s military occupation for the past three decades.
While Abu Akleh reported for Al Jazeera‘s Arabic language channel, she was also a citizen of the United States of America.
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