Qatar-based cable network, Al-Jazeera, has accused the Israeli government of killing one of its journalists, Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli army gunfire during an Israeli raid, in the occupied West Bank, Palestine, May 11, 2022.
The death of Abu Akleh broke in the early hours of Wednesday when the network interrupted its broadcast to announce her death.
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The channel in a statement said Abu Aklehwas “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.
Reacting to the death of the veteran journalist, the United Nations (UN), the United States and European Union (EU) called for a thorough investigation into the death of Abu Akleh.
“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.”
Akleh, 51, is one of many Al-Jazeera’s reporters to have died while on duty.
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