During a raid by Israel’s military
Reporter shot dead in West Bank
05/11/2022, 12:21 p.m
In the Arab world, Shirin Abu Akle is known for reporting on the Middle East conflict. Now the reporter from Al-Jazeera has died during an Israeli raid on the West Bank. It is unclear where the shots came from. Palestinians and Israelis blame each other.
A reporter from the TV station Al-Jazeera was killed by gunfire during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank. It is still unclear exactly how journalist Shirin Abu Akle, who is well known in the Arab world, died. The Israeli army said there was a fierce firefight with dozens of Palestinian militants during a raid on a refugee camp in Jenin. The 51-year-old may have been hit by Palestinian bullets, it said. Al-Jazeera, on the other hand, accused Israel of targeted, cold-blooded murder. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also spoke of a “crime of execution”.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, however, denied the allegations against the Israeli army. “According to the information we have, it is likely that armed Palestinians, who were shooting indiscriminately at the time, were responsible for the journalist’s unfortunate death,” Bennett said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health had announced that the journalist had been fatally wounded in the head by a gunshot. Another journalist from the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds, who also works for Al-Jazeera, was also shot in the incident.
The reporter reported on the raid while wearing a vest with the clearly legible inscription “Press”, wrote Al-Jazeera. The Palestinian from East Jerusalem has been working for the Qatari broadcaster for more than 20 years. She was particularly well known in the Arab world for her reporting on the Middle East conflict.
TV station blames Israel
Al-Jazeera condemned the fatal shooting as “a heinous crime aimed at preventing media coverage”. The broadcaster accused the Israeli government and army of being responsible for the reporter’s death. He called on the international community to hold the Israeli military accountable.
Israeli Foreign Minister Jair Lapid offered the Palestinians a joint investigation and autopsy. “Journalists in conflict zones need to be protected. And we all have a responsibility to find out the truth,” Lapid said, according to his office.
The Israeli army said soldiers had been deployed in Jenin to arrest terrorist suspects. Dozens of armed Palestinians fired on the troops. “The terrorists also threw explosives on the soldiers, endangering their lives.” The soldiers fired back in the direction from which the shot was fired and hits were identified. “The Israeli army is investigating the incident and the possibility that the journalists were hit by the armed Palestinians,” it said.
However, al-Jazeera wrote, citing his office chief in Ramallah, Walid Omari, that there had been no shots from the Palestinian side. The army also offered the Palestinian side a joint investigation.
Army responds to attack wave
A wave of terror has killed 17 people in Israel since the end of March, and an Israeli security guard in the West Bank was also shot dead by Palestinians. Since the beginning of the wave of attacks, Israel’s army has increased its operations in the occupied West Bank. Especially in the area of the city of Jenin, which is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians, such military operations repeatedly lead to serious confrontations with residents.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 20 Palestinians have been killed since the end of March. Several Palestinians have been killed in military operations, but also in their own attacks and clashes with the army. Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. The Palestinians, on the other hand, want the areas for a separate state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as the capital.
The deadly incident in Jenin could bring further distress to the shaky Israeli government. In the wake of the reporter’s death, the Arab Raam party postponed a planned press conference to announce whether it would continue to support the government in parliamentary votes.
The opposition, led by ex-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wants to overthrow Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition, which lost its majority last month, as quickly as possible. Raam condemned the reporter’s death and called for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry.