Israeli forces killed an Al-Jazeera reporter in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
It said Shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known Palestinian reporter for the broadcaster's Arabic language channel, was shot and died soon afterward. Another Palestinian journalist working for the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper was wounded but in stable condition.
The Health Ministry said the reporters were hit by Israeli fire. In video footage of the incident, Abu Akleh can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word "PRESS.”
VIDEO — Calls mounting for investigation into Shireen Abu Akleh's death after well-known Al-Jazeera reporter fatally shot in occupied West Bank in incident broadcaster blames on Israeli forces pic.twitter.com/aR32x4TEE5
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) May 11, 2022
The Israeli military said its forces came under attack with heavy gunfire and explosives while operating in Jenin, and that they fired back. The military said it is "investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”
Abu Akleh, 51, was born in Jerusalem. She began working for Al Jazeera in 1997 and regularly reported on camera from across the Palestinian territories.
Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks amid a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, many of them carried out by Palestinians from in and around Jenin. The town, and particularly its refugee camp, has long been known as a militant bastion.
Israelis have long been critical of Al-Jazeera's coverage, but authorities generally allow its journalists to operate freely. Another Al-Jazeera reporter, Givara Budeiri, was briefly detained last year during a protest in Jerusalem and treated for a broken hand, which her employer blamed on rough treatment by police.
Israel said it had proposed a joint investigation and autopsy with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which refused the offer.
The PA, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters, condemned what it said was a "shocking crime" committed by Israeli forces.
Samoudi, who was working as her producer, told The Associated Press (AP) they were among a group of seven reporters who went to cover the raid early Wednesday. He said they were all wearing protective gear that clearly marked them as reporters, and they passed by Israeli troops so the soldiers would know that they were there.
He said the first shot missed them, then a second struck him, and a third killed Abu Akleh. He said there were no militants or other civilians in the area – only the reporters and the army. He said the military's suggestion that they were shot by militants was a "complete lie."
Shaza Hanaysheh, a journalist with a Palestinian news website who was also among the reporters, gave a similar account in an interview with Al-Jazeera's Arabic channel, saying there were no clashes or shooting in the immediate area.
She said that when the shots rang out she and Abu Akleh ran toward a tree to take shelter.
"I reached the tree before Shireen. She fell on the ground," Hanaysheh said. "Every time I extended my hand toward Shireen, the soldiers fired at us."
The Qatar-based network interrupted its broadcast to announce her death. The channel accused Israeli forces of deliberately killing its veteran journalist. In a statement, it said Abu Akleh was "assassinated in cold blood” by Israeli forces.
"We pledge to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and bring them to justice," Al-Jazeera vowed.
It termed the killing as a "heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty.”
"Al-Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen,” it said, going on to call on the international community "to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing” of the reporter.
The United Nations, the United States and European Union called for a thorough investigation into the death of the veteran Al-Jazeera journalist.
"I strongly condemn the killing of Al Jazeera's reporter, Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot with live fire this morning while covering an Israeli security forces' operation in Jenin, in occupied West Bank," U.N. special envoy for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland said on Twitter.
"I call for an immediate and thorough investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable. Media workers should never be targeted," he added.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides also called for investigating the reporter's death.
"I encourage a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death and the injury of at least one other journalist today in Jenin," Nides tweeted.
A similar call for investigation was echoed by the U.S. Palestinian Affairs Unit.
"We encourage a thorough investigation into her death and the injury of fellow journalist, Ali Al-Samoudi," it added.
The EU delegation to the Palestinians said it was "shocked by the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was reporting on ISF incursions in Jenin."
