Family members, friends, and coworkers have reiterated calls for justice for the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was undoubtedly killed by an Israeli sniper. These calls were made during the one year commemoration of the deceased Al-jazeera journalist.
Abu Akleh was a big name in the Arabian journalism space, and was signed to Qatar-based Al Jazeera. She suffered a gunshot to her head on 11 May last year, while reporting an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the slumlike refugee camp on the outskirts of the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The international outburst of grief over the reporter’s death, was driven by images of violence at her funeral in Jerusalem, as Israeli police assaulted pallbearers, nearly causing them to drop the coffin.
The IDF eventually confirmed that there is a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh was killed by a soldier, but maintained that her death was unintentional and that no criminal probe is necessary.
International accountability efforts have been deliberately delayed in the year since. Hundreds of people gathered earlier this week in Ramallah, to memorialize a great pioneer and her accomplishments at a concert honoring the Jerusalemite.
“Years of seeing justice not being served for Palestinians tells me we shouldn’t expect much from officials. But if we focus on whatever silver lining there is, I’d never seen anything like the turnout at her funeral. It showed how loved and respected she was,” said Dalia Hatuqa, Akleh’s former colleague and friend.
“Shireen has inspired a whole generation of young women and men, who admired her and her work and want to follow in her footsteps,” Hatuqa praised her former colleague.
Abu Akleh’s family and comrades paid tribute to her commitment to telling the world the brutal reality of Israeli occupation, as well as moments of love and strength. Several pieces written in her honor were presented by a Jerusalem girls’ chorus and young ladies from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music.
A number of universities have unveiled awards and scholarships in Abu Akleh’s honor, a street in Ramallah, has been named after her, and her name will also live on in the shape of a media museum, set to open in the city in 2025.
For Palestinians and many of the rest of the world, it is obvious who is to blame for Abu Akleh’s death. Several investigations as well as a UN inquiries, have concluded that the Shireen was murdered by Israeli soldiers. Some evidence suggests that, the small group of journalists, she was with, were intentionally targeted, despite the fact that they were wearing helmets and protection vests with the word “Press” clearly written on them.
The Biden administration has embraced Israel’s version of events and has prevented launching investigation into the killing of the US citizen. Congressional pressure forced it to agree to an FBI investigation last November, which appears to be the only hope to get justice for Akleh; though Israel has stated that it will not cooperate.
The matter has also been referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague by Abu Akleh’s family and Al Jazeera, but processes generally take years and Israel is not a member of the ICC.
Abu Akleh is not the only Palestinian journalist killed in recent years, which went unpunished. A new report published this week by Committee to Protect Journalists(CPJ) which coincided with the anniversary of Abu Akleh’s death, concluded that Israel had never punished or convicted any soldier liable for the killings of at least 20 journalists, 18 of whom were Palestinian, since 2001.
“Israel officials discount evidence and witness claims, often appearing to clear soldiers for the killing while enquiries are still in progress. When probes do take place, the Israeli military often take months or years to investigate killings, and families of mostly Palestinian journalists have little recourse inside Israel to pursue justice,” the report said.
