Shireen Abu Akleh

Palestinian-American journalisr

Shireen Abu Akleh (Arabic: ????? ??? ?????;April 3, 1971 – May 11, 2022) was a Palestinian-American journalist who worked as a reporter for the Arabic-language channel Al Jazeera for 25 years, and was one of the most prominent names across the Middle East for her decades of reporting in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

Over the course of her career, she reported on numerous major events affecting Palestinians, while also analyzing Israeli politics.Her televised reporting and distinctive sign-offs became common knowledge, and, as a leading journalist in the Arab world, she was a source of inspiration for many other Palestinians and Arabs, particularly as a role model for Arab women intent on pursuing careers in journalism.

On 11 May 2022, while covering a raid by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the Jenin Refugee camp in the West Bank, Abu Akleh, who was wearing a blue vest with "PRESS" written on it, was shot and killed.

Despite initial reports by her colleagues (including an AFP photojournalist) accusing Israeli soldiers for her death, Israel initially denied responsibility and blamed Palestinian militants.

Later, the IDF stated that a probe found that it was possible she had been killed by fire from either the IDF or Palestinians.

Separate investigations were conducted by international news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bellingcat, as well as by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, all of which concluded that the shot that killed her came from Israeli forces; an independent investigation by CNN concluded that her death was the result of a targeted Israeli killing.

Further investigation by the US State Department also concluded she was "likely killed by Israeli fire", though US officials stated there was "no reason to believe" her shooting was intentional.

On 5 September, the IDF admitted a "high possibility" that the journalist was "accidentally hit" by army fire, but said that, despite US requests to do so, it would not undertake a criminal investigation into her death.

Forensic Architecture, a London-based research group, rejected Israel's findings on 20 September, with its investigation finding that she was deliberately targeted, and that sustained shooting indicated "Shireen was actively and deliberately denied medical aid" in the absence of fighting in the area.

In November 2022, the U.S.Department of Justice opened an investigation into the killing, a move that Israel condemned and stated they would not cooperate with.

The manner of her death and the subsequent violent disruption of her funeral drew widespread international condemnation of Israel.During the funeral, Israeli Police officers attacked pallbearers who were carrying her coffin from the Saint Joseph Hospital in East Jerusalem with batons and stun grenades.

The hospital itself was stormed by Israeli police who hit, shoved, and trampled on patients, threw stun grenades, wounding and causing burns to medical staff.

The facility issued a statement from the Christian Churches of the Holy Land group, representing 15 Christian denominations, stating that the Israeli police's actions constituted "invasion and disproportionate use of force ... (and) a severe violation of international norms and regulations, including the fundamental right of freedom of religion." Her funeral was attended by tens of thousands of Palestinians carrying flags and chanting nationalist songs.

It is believed to have been the largest Palestinian funeral in Jerusalem in over twenty years.