Al Jazeera journalist shot and killed during Israeli raid in West Bank

• 05.11.2022, 14:14
•  Near East,  World

Al Jazeera

A journalist for Al Jazeera was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early morning on Wednesday, May 11, Le Monde reports. The broadcaster and another reporter who was wounded in the incident blamed Israeli forces, who said they were investigating. Sherine Abu Akleh, a well-known Palestinian female reporter for the broadcaster's Arabic language channel, was shot and died soon afterward. Ali Samoudi, another Palestinian journalist, was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in the back.

The Qatar-based network interrupted its broadcast to announce her death. In a statement flashed on its channel, it called on the international community to "condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for deliberately targeting and killing our colleague."

"We pledge to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and bring them to justice," Al-Jazeera said in a statement.

The Israeli military said its forces came under attack with heavy gunfire and explosives while operating in Jenin, and that they fired back. The military said it is "investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen."

Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said it had proposed to the Palestinian Authority a joint pathological investigation into the reporter's death. "Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth," he tweeted.

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.

— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid???? (@yairlapid) May 11, 2022