Palestine: CFWIJ Demands Transparent International Probe Into Palestinian Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh's Killing
Location: Israel, Jenin
Date: June 3, 2022
*Updated on December 13, 2022
The Coalition For Women In Journalism reiterates its demand for a thorough and transparent investigation into the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in occupied West Bank on May 11, 2022. It is extremely concerning that the Israeli state has refused to conduct a criminal investigation claiming an “active combative situation” despite several reports to the contrary. Eyewitness accounts and independent investigations since all suggest Shireen, a veteran correspondent for Al Jazeera and a household name in the region, was shot and killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) while wearing a press vest and no other threats at the site. The Israeli state’s horrific and well documented reaction against mourners at the journalist’s funeral further casts doubt on the state’s implicit policies towards violence against Palestinian journalists. The CFWIJ lends support to Al Jazeera Network and joins their call on the International Criminal Court for justice.
On May 11, 2022, Shireen Abu Akleh was on ground covering an IDF raid at a residential neighborhood of Jenin in Israel-occupied West Bank, when she was fatally shot in the head. The journalist was wearing a vest clearly identifying her as press when the bullet hit her. She was shifted to a hospital and declared dead on arrival.
Eyewitnesses, Al Jazeera correspondents and the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of occupied West Bank, have held IDF forces responsible for the killing. Journalistic investigations since, also lend support to their claims. On the other hand, after initially claiming that there was chaos and exchange of fire during which a Palestinian bullet could have hit Shireen, Israel backtracked and said it could have been an errant Israeli bullet.
Then on May 19, Israel announced that it will not initiate a criminal investigation into Shireen’s killing as it was during an “active combative situation”. Instead, Israel claimed an “operational inquiry” would be launched.
Shireen was, 51, born in Jerusalem and regularly reported on-camera from across the Palestinian territories. As a senior television correspondent she had become a household name across the Arab world for her bold coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. She had covered events in the region, ranging from the Gaza wars of 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2021 to the daring jailbreak of six Palestinians who escaped a maximum-security prison in northern Israel last September for Al Jazeera. She also covered regional news, including the war in Lebanon in 2006. At the time of her death, she had been learning Hebrew to understand Israeli media narratives better, said Nida, adding that Shireen had just finished a diploma in digital media. Know more about Shireen’s work here.
In her last email to the news network, Shireen informed Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau at 6:13am (3:13 GMT) of the raid. “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.”
After the horrific killing, support poured in for Shireen on social media and elsewhere. Two days later, her funeral procession was marred by further reports of violence perpetrated by IDF forces. According to Al Jazeera, as the journalist’s body left St Joseph Hospital in East Jerusalem, Israeli police attacked the funeral procession. Pallbearers were nearly forced to drop Shireen’s coffin. Israeli forces reportedly seized Palestinian flags from mourners and later smashed the window of the hearse carrying Shireen’s body. Video footage showing use of brute force against mourners was widely shared on social media.
According to the Jerusalem Red Crescent, at least 33 people were injured in the attacks. Six of them were hospitalized. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities said six people were arrested after mourners threw “rocks and glass bottles”.
As documented by the CFWIJ, shortly after the killing, Ali Samoudi, another Palestinian journalist, who was Shireen’s producer and was shot in the back the same day, told the Associated Press that the entire team was wearing protective gear that clearly marked them as press. Samoudi denounced the Israeli military's suggestion that they were shot by militants as a “complete lie”.
The news producer said they passed by Israeli troops so the soldiers would see them and know that they were there. The first shot missed them, then a second struck him, and a third killed Shireen, he recounted. He said there were no militants or other civilians in the area — only the reporters and the army, according to American-based global news outlet Bloomberg.
Shaza Hanaysheh, a journalist with a Palestinian news website, who was also at the scene of the crime, 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 Shireen ran toward a tree to take shelter. “I reached the tree before Shireen. She fell on the ground. The soldiers did not stop shooting even after she fell. Every time I extended my hand toward Shireen, the soldiers fired at us.”
Similarly, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Ramallah, Walid al-Omary, that that there was no shooting carried out by Palestinian gunmen at the site. "Condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for deliberately targeting and killing our colleague,” stressed Al-Jazeera in a statement aired on its channel. The news outlet called on the international community for support and vowed to fight for justice for Shireen. “We pledge to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and bring them to justice.”
Earlier this month, a group of Israeli human rights organizations, scholars and members of civil society formally requested the United Nations to probe Shireen killings. They called on UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Summary or Arbitrary Killings Morris Tidball-Binz and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese to investigate the killing.
“Since the State of Israel enjoys 100 percent immunity and zero accountability from the international community, past experience proves that the State of Israel will not even open an investigation for fear of harming its PR,” the letter reads.
The CFWIJ has closely monitored the events that have followed Shireen’s killing. Below is a quick recap of major developments in the case:
On May 11, Shireen Abu Akleh is shot openly while reporting on an IDF raid in occupied West Bank.
On May 12, Israel’s defense minister, Benny Gantz, concedes that “our side may have killed” Abu Akleh.
On May 13, Israeli forces attack mourners at Shireen’s funeral procession of Shireen
On May 19, Israel announces that it will not initiate a criminal investigation into Shireen’s killing as it was during an “active combative situation”. Instead, Israel claimed an “operational inquiry” would be launched.
On May 23, Palestinian foreign ministry announces it has formally asked the ICC to investigate Shireen’s killing.
On May 24, the Associated Press publishes findings of a reconstruction of the crime scene lending support to the assertion by Palestenian authorities that the bullet that claimed Shireen’s life came from an Israeli weapon. Other journalistic investigations reach similar conclusions in following days.
On May 26, new video evidence emerges suggesting that Shireen was shot at by an Israeli soldier while she and colleagues were standing near a refugee camp in Jenin reporting on the military raid.
On June 24, UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) probe reveals that “the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli Security Forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians”. There was no evidence of activity by armed Palestinians close by, no shooting was taking place and no warnings were issued, said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani. Find the complete report here.
On September 5, Israeli Defense Forces conceded for the first time that there is a “high possibility” Shireen was shot and killed by Israeli fire. The IDF’s statement acknowledged that Shireen was present on ground in journalistic capacity, covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin, reported CNN. However, the Israeli ministry does not intend to pursue criminal charges or prosecute any of the soldiers involved, IDF’s Military Advocate General’s Office confirmed in a separate statement issued later the same day. Find more details here.
On December 6, 2022, Shireen Abu Akleh’s niece Lina Abu Akleh along with Al Jazeera representatives submitted the case of Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. New evidence based on eyewitness accounts, video footage, and forensic evidence show that Abu Akleh and her colleagues were directly fired at by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) as part of a broader campaign to target and silence Al Jazeera. According to Al Jazeera’s legal team, this evidence contradicts previous claims made by Israel that Abu Akleh was “accidentally” hit by IOF forces.
“The evidence presented to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) confirms, without any doubt, that there was no firing in the area where Shireen was, other than the IOF shooting directly at her. The journalists were in full view of the IOF as they walked as a group slowly down the road with their distinctive media vests, and there were no other persons in the road”, Al Jazeera stated.
Based on the new evidence submitted, Rodney Dixon, one of the attorneys representing Al Jazeera, said that the ICC has “no excuse not to take the next step to find the person responsible”. “At the very least, those in command should be held accountable”, he added.
It is crucial to locate the killing and the events that have followed in historical context. We have repeatedly called attention to violations against Palestinian journalists at the hands of the Israeli state. Over the past several years, the Israeli state has used unrestrained state violence to counter the voices of journalists reporting on Palestinian resistance and Israeli overreaches in the region. At least 45 journalists have been killed by Israeli forces since 2000, according to the Paliestinian ministry of information. No Israeli soldier has been held responsible for killing a media worker. The CFWIJ has documented cases of excessive violence against women journalists, killings, arbitrary detentions and legal harassment, among other violations. It is also apparent that the Israeli state benefits from a culture of impunity and lack of scrutiny for its overreaches against the press. Even in the case of Shireen’s killing, we saw certain well-reputed publications propagate the Israeli state’s narrative and understate the crime.
Palestinian journalists, human rights groups, activists and press freedom defenders have long pointed to excesses by the Israeli state as well as biases when it comes to telling Palestinian stories. In a recent Twitter space conducted by the CFWIJ, journalist at Al Jazeera and Shireen’s former colleague, Rania Zabaneh, shared how Palestenians are always questioned when they try to tell the stories of the occupation. “They are never heard,” she said, “They always have to be confirmed or verified.”
On May 26, the Al Jazeera Network announced its decision to approach the ICC. The network said it has prepared an international coalition with a legal team who is collecting documents on the killing of Aby Akleh to present to the ICC. The Coalition For Women In Journalism lends complete support to Al Jazeera and calls for justice for Shireen. Our heart goes out to the aggrieved friends and family of Shireen, and her colleagues who feel her loss acutely. We demand an immediate and transparent probe into the killing and call on the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to extend complete support to such investigators. We stress that impunity begets violence. On June 1, 2022, Ghufran Harun Warasneh, 31, became the second Palestenian woman to be killed by Israeli forces in less than a month. She was headed to work at a local news network in Hebron, when she was fatally shot near Arroub refugee camp in Israeli-occupied West Bank. The impunity with which the Israeli state continues to threaten independent reportage in the disputed territories and continues to commit violations against the press is appalling. It is high time that the international community step in and ensure that the rights of Palestinian journalists are protected.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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