The unabated oppression of the Israeli occupying forces has now claimed the life of a veteran journalist and icon during a military raid on the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp. Abu Akleh—who worked for Al Jazeera and was renowned for her coverage of the harsh realities of the occupied territories—died after suffering a single gunshot to the head. During this tragic incident, her producer Ali Samoudi was also shot in the back, though he has fortunately survived the attack.
The occupation forces have exhibited a trend of targeting Palestinian journalists, by shooting, killing, injuring, arresting or beating them, often breaking their equipment. This tragedy is now further proof of the tactics employed by the occupying forces and how they go after reporters working to present an objective picture of the situation on the ground. About a year ago, Israeli forces also destroyed a building in Gaza that was housing AP and Al Jazeera offices, leading to international outrage and condemnation, which soon died out without any substantial measures being taken to hold the perpetrators accountable.
It comes as no surprise that Israel initially blamed the shootings on Palestinian gunmen who according its officials were “firing indiscriminately”. This blatantly false version of events has now been retracted with multiple witnesses coming forward to claim that there were no Palestinian gunmen in the area. The producer who survived the attack has clearly stated that there was no exchange of fire, and that not even stones were thrown toward the troops. There was no provocation here whatsoever and the journalists were wearing bulletproof vests on which the “Press” sign was clearly visible. It appears that this was either a targeted attack against the press, or that the occupying forces were intending to kill another innocent civilian.
Palestinians of course cannot even mourn in peace as the Israeli police stormed a gathering of mourners at Abu Akleh’s house demanding that people dispersed and stopped playing Palestinian nationalist songs and waving flags.
Both the EU and the UN have called for an independent and transparent investigation into the killing. However, we have seen this play out in the past on several occasions, and once again, Israel will get away with violations of international law without facing any consequences. It is offensive to even suggest that Israel can be trusted to conduct a fair investigation into the matter. The international double standards are also on display once again with major publications attempting to equivocate and give the impression that the version of events is perhaps disputed. The plain and simple truth is that Israel does not want the world to know what is happening inside the occupied territories, and it will go to any lengths to achieve this objective.
The occupation forces have exhibited a trend of targeting Palestinian journalists, by shooting, killing, injuring, arresting or beating them, often breaking their equipment. This tragedy is now further proof of the tactics employed by the occupying forces and how they go after reporters working to present an objective picture of the situation on the ground. About a year ago, Israeli forces also destroyed a building in Gaza that was housing AP and Al Jazeera offices, leading to international outrage and condemnation, which soon died out without any substantial measures being taken to hold the perpetrators accountable.
It comes as no surprise that Israel initially blamed the shootings on Palestinian gunmen who according its officials were “firing indiscriminately”. This blatantly false version of events has now been retracted with multiple witnesses coming forward to claim that there were no Palestinian gunmen in the area. The producer who survived the attack has clearly stated that there was no exchange of fire, and that not even stones were thrown toward the troops. There was no provocation here whatsoever and the journalists were wearing bulletproof vests on which the “Press” sign was clearly visible. It appears that this was either a targeted attack against the press, or that the occupying forces were intending to kill another innocent civilian.
Palestinians of course cannot even mourn in peace as the Israeli police stormed a gathering of mourners at Abu Akleh’s house demanding that people dispersed and stopped playing Palestinian nationalist songs and waving flags.
Both the EU and the UN have called for an independent and transparent investigation into the killing. However, we have seen this play out in the past on several occasions, and once again, Israel will get away with violations of international law without facing any consequences. It is offensive to even suggest that Israel can be trusted to conduct a fair investigation into the matter. The international double standards are also on display once again with major publications attempting to equivocate and give the impression that the version of events is perhaps disputed. The plain and simple truth is that Israel does not want the world to know what is happening inside the occupied territories, and it will go to any lengths to achieve this objective.