Shireen Abu Akleh

Shireen Abu Akleh (Arabic: شيرين أبو عاقلة; 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.

Abu Akleh continued in her role with Al Jazeera until she was killed in 2022. In July 2021, she was to be the first Al Jazeera journalist to broadcast live from Cairo when the network was allowed to return due to an improvement in Egypt–Qatar relations. At the time of her death, she had been studying Hebrew in order to better understand narratives in the Israeli media, and had recently gained a diploma in digital media.

On 31 May 2022, the UN announced the renaming of their annual training program to The Shireen Abu Akleh Training Program for Palestinian Broadcasters and Journalists.

On May 11, 2022, the Palestinian Health Ministry announced the death of Abu Akleh. She had been reporting on an IDF raid in Jenin Camp when, according to witnesses and Al-Jazeera, she was shot and killed by the IDF. Al Jazeera accused Israel of deliberately targeting the victim. Abu Akleh was present at a raid which the Israeli military stated was targeted at capturing "terror suspects". Al Jazeera said that Abu Akleh was shot in the head by the IDF, and transported to Ibn Sina Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was 51 years old. Another journalist, Ali Samodi of Al-Quds newspaper, was shot in the back but survived; two other Palestinians were transported to a hospital in moderate condition. The Times of London reported that Abu Akleh was shot by a sniper. Shatha Hanaysha, a Palestinian journalist, said that she and a fourth journalist, along with Abu Akleh and Ali Samodi, had been pinned down by Israeli snipers, who did not cease firing even after Abu Akleh went down, preventing Hanaysha from pulling the victim in. An autopsy at An-Najah National University was unable to determine who shot Abu Akleh; the pathologist found no evidence that she had been shot at close range. The autopsy confirmed that Abu Akleh was killed by an armour-piercing bullet that struck her in the back of the head, and, exiting her forehead, ricocheted back from her helmet, causing skull fractures and damage to the brain. The bullet was recovered and sent for further examination.

The Palestinian Authority scheduled a state funeral procession to be held on May 12, 2022, in Ramallah, beginning at the Palestinian presidential headquarters. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, planned to attend. Abu Akleh's brother, Tony, said that he had spoken to Israeli police before the funeral, and that the police wanted to know the procession route, any arrangements for the funeral, and did not want any Palestinian flags, slogans or chanting during the procession.

President Abbas stated that he considered Israeli forces "fully responsible" for Abu Akleh's death. Hussein al-Sheikh, the Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister and since 26 May 2022, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee, replacing Saeb Erekat, wrote on Twitter that Abu Akleh had been "martyred by the bullets of the Israeli occupation", adding that the "crime of silencing the word" had been "committed once again, and the truth is murdered by the bullets of the Israeli occupation". Head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom Husam Zomlot described Abu Akleh as a "beloved journalist" and his close friend.

Abu Akleh's death was protested across numerous cities internationally during Nakba Day commemorations, including London, New York City, and Washington, D.C., among others. It was additionally condemned by Artists for Palestine UK in an open letter released on May 19, 2022, which was signed by over 100 artists including Pedro Almodóvar, Angela Davis, Susan Sarandon, Arundhati Roy, and Mark Ruffalo. The letter, which described Israel as an apartheid state, decried "Israeli occupation forces’ killing of the highly respected Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh" along with the subsequent "attack by heavily armed Israeli forces on Palestinian mourners".

The United States demanded a transparent investigation, the European Union an independent probe and supported by the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. Several independent groups launched their own investigations. Bellingcat carried out a video and audio analysis of social media from Palestinian and Israeli military sources concluding that while gunmen and Israeli soldiers were both present, gunmen were much further away, and the evidence supported witness accounts that Israeli fire was likely responsible. The shooting, says Bellingcat, was "slow and deliberate, suggesting targeting rather than a spray of bullets aimed at another object or person". On 16 June 2022, Al Jazeera reported that it had obtained an image of the bullet and that according to ballistic and forensic experts, the green-tipped bullet was designed to pierce armour and 5.56mm calibre for use in an M4 rifle, the same as regularly used by Israeli forces. Palestinian fighters also use the M4. Israeli human rights group B'tselem also conducted an investigation, having "played a key role in the military's backtracking from its initial claims that Palestinian gunmen appeared to be responsible" for the death."

The U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the killing, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced on 15 November 2022. Defense Minister Benny Gantz called the investigation "a grave mistake." He said that "the IDF conducted an independent and professional investigation, the details of which were presented to the Americans" and "I made it clear to the American representatives that we stand behind the IDF soldiers, that we will not cooperate with any external investigation, and we will not allow interference in Israel's internal affairs". Three Israeli and U.S. officials told Axios that the White House and the State Department told the Israeli government they were not behind the FBI decision to open an investigation. On 14 November, 19 House Democrats introduced standalone legislation, the Justice for Shireen Act, requiring a report on the killing. On 15 November, Amnesty International said in a statement reacting to the announcement of an investigaton that "Israel cannot keep killing Palestinians with impunity."

On 26 May, the same day as Palestine said it had completed its investigation and forwarded the findings to the US administration, Al Jazeera said that it would file a case with the ICC to cover the killing and "the Israeli bombing and total destruction of Al Jazeera’s office in Gaza in May 2021, as well as the continuous incitements and attacks on its journalists operating in the occupied Palestinian territories." The family of Abu Akleh said it had given permission for the case of her killing to be submitted to the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din analyzed Israeli military records on prosecutions resulting from military investigations and found that Israeli forces have "near-total impunity from prosecution in cases in which Palestinians were harmed by IDF soldiers", and further that the army's investigative mechanisms are not adequate as the data shows that "even when the army does investigate, it does not lead to justice," with just 5 criminal prosecutions, 2% of all complaints received, in 2019–2020.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 144 Palestinian journalists have been wounded by Israeli forces across the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and East Jerusalem since 2018. In April 2022, the International Federation of Journalists filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court accusing Israeli forces of systematic targeting of journalists. The complaint details four cases, Ahmed Abu Hussein, Yaser Murtaja, Muath Amarneh, and Nedal Eshtayeh alleged to have been targeted. The director of RSF, Christophe Deloire, described her killing as a violation of the Geneva Conventions and United Nations Security Council resolution 2222 on the protection of journalists. He stated that RSF was "disappointed" with a proposal by Yair Lapid that Israel should participate in a joint investigation into Abu Akleh's death, saying that "an independent international investigation must be launched" instead. The Committee to Protect Journalists called for a "swift, immediate, and transparent investigation" into the killing, while the International Federation of Journalists condemned the killing "by Israeli troops" and called for an "immediate investigation". Amnesty International described it as a "bloody reminder of the deadly system in which Israel locks Palestinians" and called for an end to "unlawful killings" of Palestinians by Israeli forces. The Palestine Journalists Syndicate described the killing as "a clear assassination perpetrated by the Israeli occupation army".

Having reported on events including the Battle of Jenin in 2002 and various Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip, and interviewed long-term Palestinian prisoners at Shikma Prison in 2005 as the first Arab journalist allowed inside, Abu Akleh expressed concern that she was being targeted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and armed Israeli settlers. In one interview with Al Jazeera, she stated that she had repeatedly been accused by Israeli authorities of photographing security areas.

Abu Akleh worked as a journalist for Radio Monte Carlo and Voice of Palestine. She additionally worked for the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), the Amman Satellite Channel, and for the MIFTAH (the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy). In 1997, she began working as a journalist for Al Jazeera, as one of their first field correspondents, becoming well known as a reporter on their Arabic-language channel. She lived and worked in East Jerusalem, reporting on major events related to Palestine including the Second Intifada, and additionally covering Israeli politics. She often reported on funerals for Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

Abu Akleh was born in Jerusalem in 1971, to Louli and Nasri Abu Aqleh, a Palestinian Arab Christian (Melkite Catholic) family from Bethlehem. She spent time in the United States, obtaining U.S. citizenship through members of her mother's family who lived in New Jersey. Abu Akleh's parents died when she was young. She has one brother.