Born in Jerusalem, the renowned reporter was at the forefront of the coverage of the ongoing crimes committed against Palestinians by the apartheid state.

Israeli forces have killed Al Jazeera Palestine Correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh on Wednesday as she covered the storming of the Jenin camps in the West Bank.

Al Jazeera has confirmed that Abu Akleh, who was in her protective press flack jacket, was killed after she was targeted by Israeli forces. The 51 year-old reporter was shot in the head by a live bullet and was pronounced dead at the Ibin Sina Hospital in Jenin.

A screenshot of her last email on her way to the camps read,”I will bring you the news as soon as the picture becomes clear.”

According to Palestinian news agency (WAFA), Jerusalem-based Al Jazeera producer Ali Al-Samoudi has also been shot by the occupation forces and is currently in a stable condition.

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that the killing was deliberate and the bullet hit her below the ear in an area that was not covered by the helmet Abu Akleh was wearing.

Shatha Hanaysha, a journalist at the scene with Abu Akleh, told the broadcaster that there were no confrontations.

“We were four journalists in an exposed area. There were no confrontations or shots being fired by Palestinian fighters,” said Hanaysha, tearfully speaking to the press.

She noted that the occupation forces did not stop firing even after shooting Abu Akleh and that she was unable to pull her out due to the ongoing shooting.

Al Jazeera asaid that it was “premeditated murder that violates international laws and norms.”

The network condemned the killing and said it holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the crime.

“It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing of Shireen,” added Al Jazeera.

“We hold the Israeli authorities responsible for the safety of Al Jazeera producer Ali Al-Samoudi, who was targeted with colleague Shireen by shooting him in the back during his coverage and he is undergoing treatment,” added the network.

Local condemnation

Qatar has also joined in condemning the killing of Abu Akleh and shooting of Al-Samoudi.

In a statement, the Gulf state’s foreign ministry described the incident as “a heinous crime” and “a blatant infringement on freedom of media and expression.” It called for the protection of the press in Palestine.

“Journalists, media professionals, who carry out dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict are generally considered civilians, and should be respected and protected,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Officials in Qatar have called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinians and ending their support to the apartheid state.

“She was covering their [Israeli] attack in Jenin refugee camp. This state sponsored Israeli terrorism must STOP, unconditional support to Israel must END,” tweeted Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah Al-Khater.

Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi also took to Twitter to comment on the matter.

“The occupation cannot tolerate press censorship that reveals the reality of its arbitrary practices on the ground in Palestine, so it assassinated the prominent journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in a heinous crime and an attack on media freedom,” said Al-Khulaifi.

He added, “May God protect our people in Palestine.”

Sheikha Al-Mayassa Al Thani has echoed the same sentiments.

“For decades they have killed and murdered innocent civilians claiming lands of their ancestors as their own; targeting journalists for sharing with the rest of the world the realities on the ground is unacceptable anywhere, including Palestine.”

A tragic loss

Abu Akleh’s killing has left everyone in the Middle East and the media industry in an utter shock, given the remarkable achievements she has made in the journalism world.

Born in Jerusalem, the renowned reporter was at the forefront of the coverage of the ongoing crimes committed against Palestinians by the apartheid state.

She has been one of the most important faces of Al Jazeera and was known for her courage in standing up in the most dangerous conditions to carry out her journalistic duties.

Abu Akleh had received a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Media, from Yarmouk University in Jordan. Al Jazeera said that she was from the first generation of the channel’s field correspondents.

“For a quarter of a century, Abu Akleh was at the centre of danger to cover the wars, attacks and aggressions of the Israeli occupation, on the Palestinian people in the occupied territories,” said the Qatar-based broadcaster.

Giles Trendle, Al Jazeera’s managing director, said that the network will continue its journalistic mission in Palestine.

“As journalists, we carry on. Our mission is to carry on. We will not be silenced despite attempts to silence us,” said Trendle.

The entire community of Palestinians and journalists globally took to social media to express their sadness and frustration over the incident.

In a tweet, AJ+ senior presenter and producer Dena Takruri said,”Shireen Abu Akleh was a kind and humble soul. She was a brilliant journalist, so respected across Palestine and around the Arab world. I can’t believe she’s gone.”

Al Jazeera journalist Arwa Ibrahim has also taken to social media to mourn the significant loss.

“I grew up listening to Shireen Abu Akleh’s brave voice on Palestine and became privileged to work alongside her while reporting from Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Shireen was shot dead by Israeli police while doing her job, reporting. This news tears into all of us,” said Ibrahim.

Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Rawaa Augé described Abu Akleh as a person who loved life.

“This is what I remember most from my encounters with her, on her last visit to Doha, she thanked me for introducing her to a new Latin kitchen, and she confided to me that she was bored of upside-down resolve and misfortune when she left Palestine,” tweeted Augé.

Beyond Al Jazeera, Palestinian writer and The Nation’s Palestine correspondent Mohammed El-Kurd also joined in the global mourning following Abu Akleh’s killing.

“Sherin Abu Akleh. Fifty-one. What a loss. Killed not despite being a journalist but because she is a journalist. Her killers will roam free, and privileged faculties at faraway American universities will reprimand their students who speak out against the regime that killed her,” tweeted El-Kurd.

Palestinian writer and researcher Mariam Barghouti said that no journalist is safe in the illegally occupied land.

“Not one journalist is safe. Not one Palestinian is safe. American citizen, not American citizen. As long as you are Palestinian, you are at risk of murder. The killing of Shireen by Israeli forces today is testament to that. Only disgust for all that support Israel,” said Barghouti.

Rights groups have joined in global condemnations.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said that it seeks to add the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) complaint, which was submitted in April. The case was filed over systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists by Israel.

The complaint was also filed by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP).

Another complaint was previously submitted to the ICC by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), calling for an investigation into Israeli air strikes on more than 20 media outlets in Gaza last year.

Al Jazeera’s building in the besieged city was targeted last year during the Israeli offensive on Gaza. Israel had killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children.

Israel has continued to target the press for their reporting on the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the occupation.

According to the PJS, Israel has killed more than 46 Palestinian journalists between 2000 and 2020.  In April this year, there were 57 Israeli violations recorded against the press.