صراط عشق صراط عشق
RAMALLAH, Occupied West Bank — Israeli forces have shot dead Al Jazeera’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Abu Akleh, a longtime TV correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, was apparently assassinated on Wednesday while covering the occupying regime’s military raids in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
She was rushed to a hospital in Jenin in critical condition, where she was declared dead shortly after 7:15am (4:15 GMT), according to the ministry and Al Jazeera journalists.
Abu Akleh was wearing a press vest and was standing with other journalists when she was killed.
Another Al Jazeera journalist, Ali al-Samoudi, was wounded by a bullet in the back at the scene. He is now in stable condition.
The head of the medicine department at Al-Najah University in Nablus confirmed that Abu Akleh was shot in the head. He said that her body was transferred for an autopsy based on an order from the public prosecution.
Abu Akleh’s body was carried out of the university coated in a Palestinian flag, after which she will be taken to the Istishari Hospital in Ramallah.
An official funeral will be held for her Thursday morning at the Palestinian presidency headquarters in Ramallah.
Al-Samoudi and other journalists at the scene said there were no Palestinian fighters present when the journalists were shot, directly disputing an Israeli statement referencing the possibility that it was Palestinian fire.
“We were going to film the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming,” said al-Samoudi.
“The first bullet hit me and the second bullet hit Shireen … there was no Palestinian military resistance at all at the scene.”
Shatha Hanaysha, a local journalist who was standing next to Abu Akleh when she was shot, also told Al Jazeera that there had been no confrontations between Palestinian fighters and the Zionist military. She said the group of journalists had been directly targeted.
“We were four journalists, we were all wearing vests, all wearing helmets,” Hanaysha said. “The occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her because of the shots being fired. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.”
In her last email to the network, Abu Akleh sent a message to Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau at 6:13am (3:13 GMT) in which she wrote: “Occupation forces storm Jenin and besiege a house in the Jabriyat neighborhood. On the way there – I will bring you news as soon as the picture becomes clear.”
Separately on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said an 18 year old Palestinian,
Thaer Mislet-Yazouri, was shot dead by Zionist forces in the town of Al-Bireh, near the illegal settlement of Psagot.
Abu Akleh, who was a dual Palestinian-American national, was one of Al Jazeera’s first field correspondents, joining the network in 1997.
Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar said that Abu Akleh was the voice of Palestinians and was killed by “the monstrosity of Israeli colonialism and occupation”.
The Palestinian presidency condemned the assassination, saying in a statement that it holds the Israeli occupation responsible.
Palestinian Authority spokesperson Ibrahim Melhem described it as a “comprehensive crime committed against a well-known journalist”.
“The killing was deliberate… There will be an autopsy by Palestinian medics, which will be followed by a report including all the details of the killing,” Melhem told Al Jazeera.
“However, all the witnesses present at the scene of the crime ensure that it was an Israeli sniper that committed the crime in a deliberate way.”
Islamic countries condemned the assassination, saying it was endemic of the Zionist regime’s systematic terrorism, premeditated murder and intentionally targeting free speech.
“We condemn the execution of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and hold the extremist Israeli prime minister [Naftali] Bennett fully and directly responsible for this heinous crime,” Palestinian foreign ministry said.
“Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty,” it said in a statement.
A Hamas statement read: “The assassination of the occupation media, Shireen Abu Akleh, is premeditated murder and is condemned in the strongest terms. It will not obscure the reality of the occupation’s terrorism and brutality.”
Hamas said it considers it an international crime, and urged international movements to condemn the attack as well.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said: “The occupation’s assassination of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is a full-fledged crime and the targeting of journalists who report its crimes to international public opinion.”
Qatar’s assistant foreign minister Lolwah Alkhater condemned the assassination by the “Israeli occupation,” and called in a Twitter post for an end to “state-sponsored Israeli terrorism.”
Hezbollah also condemned the assassination, stressing that the Zionist regime is trying to muzzle the voice of journalists to cover its crimes.
It urged media organizations, the United Nations, and rights groups to denounce Israel in international forums, and prevent the regime’s acts of aggression against Palestinian journalists.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said the assassination showed that the savage Israeli regime ignores all international principles and charters.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, “The criminal act is clear proof of the Zionist regime’s utter disregard for the role of the press, media, and journalists and the position they hold to inform public opinion.”
“The Israeli propaganda machine and its affiliated media outlets, contrary to the ongoing false claims, are afraid of dissemination of truth and accurate news reports and they go as far as to even kill journalists.”
