Al-Jazeera correspondent Shirin Abu Akleh killed in Israel attack

Shirin arrived in the West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday to cover up an Israeli raid.

According to the Associated Press (AP) news agency, Shireen Akleh was a well-known Palestinian female reporter for the Arabic-language broadcaster Al-Jazeera. According to the news, he died shortly after being shot.

Another Palestinian journalist is also reported to have been injured. According to the AP, the condition of this Palestinian journalist working for al-Quds remains stable.

Qatar’s news channel Al Jazeera has accused the Israeli army of murder. In a statement aired on the channel, al-Jazeera called on the international community to condemn and fix the responsibility of the Israeli forces for the deliberate killing of his ally Abu Akleh.

Israel’s statement on journalist’s death
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lepid tweeted, “We propose to Palestine to conduct a joint investigation into the tragic death of journalist Shirin Abu Akleh. Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to reach the truth.”

He wrote, “The Israeli army will continue to work where terrorism and killing of Israelis will continue.”

Israel's security forces will continue to operate wherever necessary to prevent terrorism and the murder of Israelis.

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) May 11, 2022

According to the news agency AP, the Israeli army has said that they suddenly started firing heavily and explosives were fired in Jenin, which was fired in retaliation.

The army has also said that it is investigating the matter and it is also suspected that the journalist may have died in the firing of Palestinian gunmen.

Al-Jazeera’s West Bank correspondent Nida Ibrahim said the circumstances of Shirin Abu Aqleh’s death were not clear, but the video that surfaced showed Abu Aqleh being shot in the head.

Ibrahim said, “What is known for now is that the Palestinian Ministry of Health has announced her death. Shirin Abu Aqleh was covering events in Jenin, especially in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He was shot in the head while covering a raid by an Israeli army on a city.

The Palestinian Authority, which manages parts of the West Bank, condemned the attack as a “heartbreaking crime” committed by Israeli security forces.

Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin, the Palestinian health ministry says https://t.co/gURlVPKL4T pic.twitter.com/1WZhG7pm8N

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 11, 2022

51-year-old Abu Akleh was born in Jerusalem. She started working for Al-Jazeera in 1997 and reported from all the Palestinian territories.

Israel has conducted frequent raids in the West Bank in recent weeks. These raids are being carried out in response to several horrific attacks inside Israel, most of which are from the Palestinian side. Jenin houses refugee camps and has long been considered a stronghold of extremists.

Israel took control of the West Bank after the war fought in 1967, and Palestine wants to make it an important part of its independent country in the future.

About 3 million Palestinians live in this area under the supervision of the Israeli army. Israel has established more than 130 settlements in the West Bank, where more than half a million Jews live. They all have Israeli citizenship.

Israel has long criticized al-Jazeera’s coverage, but Israel generally does not bar journalists from the channel from reporting.

Last year, another al-Jazeera reporter was taken into custody during a demonstration in Jerusalem. After his release, al-Jazeera claimed that his employee’s hand was broken due to poor police behavior.

Relations between the Israeli military and the media, especially Palestinian journalists, have always been strained. Earlier in the year 2018, a journalist who had gone to cover the violent protests in Gaza was also allegedly shot dead by Israeli security forces.

Earlier in May last year, an Israeli airstrike had destroyed a multi-storey building in Gaza. The offices of many foreign news channels were present in this building. The then acting Director General of Al Jazeera, Dr Mustafa Sweg, said, “The attack on the Al-Jala Tower in Gaza, which houses the offices of Al Jazeera and other media organizations, is a human rights violation and is internationally considered a war crime.”