Al-Jazeera female reporter shot dead during Israeli raid in West Bank
Wednesday, 11 May 2022 (15:11 IST)
A reporter for the Al Jazeera network died after being wounded while covering clashes in the West Bank, the broadcaster and Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
The broadcaster identified the reporter as Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, who was a prominent figure in Al Jazeera's Arabic news service.
She was also wearing protective gear that identified her as a member of the press, according to the broadcaster.
Al Jazeera said another journalist, Ali Samoudi, was also wounded and is in stable condition. Samoudi was working as Abu Akleh's producer when they were both struck by gunfire.
"What we know for now is that the Palestinian Health Ministry has announced her death," Al Jazeera's Nida Ibrahim said in a statement posted to the broadcaster's website.
????: Don’t waste your time reading western/Israeli news headlines about what happened to Shireen Abu Akleh. Hear it firsthand from the Palestinian journalists who were with her and witnessed everything:pic.twitter.com/xq2JKA6d8T
"As you can imagine, this is a shock to the journalists who have been working with her," Ibrahim added.
Israel offers joint investigation into death
The shooting reportedly took place during an army raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Israel has "offered the Palestinians a joint pathological investigation into the sad death" of Abu Akleh.
"Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth," he added in a post on Twitter.
We have offered the Palestinians a joint pathological investigation into the sad death of journalist Shireen Abu Aqla. Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth.
— ???? ???? - Yair Lapid???? (@yairlapid) May 11, 2022
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer, who was also at the scene, reported that she had been killed as a result of gunfire from Israeli forces.
In a statement, Israel's military said it carried out a counterterrorism operation at a refugee camp in Jenin on Wednesday morning in an effort to detain suspects accused of terrorist activities.
During the operation, Israel's armed forces said suspects fired upon Israeli soldiers, who responded with gunfire "and hits were identified."
An investigation is currently underway and is "looking into the possibility that journalists were hit by Palestinian gunmen," the statement added.
This morning, in Jenin, terrorists heard saying: "They've hit one, they've hit a soldier, he's laying on the ground"
But no IDF soldier was injured in Jenin
Palestinian terrorists, firing indiscriminately, are likely to have hit Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla pic.twitter.com/nXNbVJrnkC
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 11, 2022
Abu Akleh was a 51-year-old Palestinian journalist with American citizenship who was born in Jerusalem.
The US Ambassador to Israel, Tim Nides, confirmed Abu Akleh was a US citizen, in a post on Twitter. He also said he encouraged "a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death."
Very sad to learn of the death of American and Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh of @AJArabic@AJEnglish. I encourage a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death and the injury of at least one other journalist today in Jenin.
— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) May 11, 2022
She began working for the Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera in 1997 and reported regularly on camera across the Palestinian territories.
