Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has been shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. The 51-year-old was covering an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp when she was shot in the face by a single bullet, despite wearing a press vest.
The spokesman of the Palestinian Authority, Ibrahim Milhim, said his government rejects any role for Israel in an investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing.
“Let me ask, when does the criminal have the right to take part in the investigation against his victim?” Milhim told Al Jazeera.“We reject and refuse the participation of any Israelis in this kind of investigation. They have to be taken to the International Court. We call on the ICJ to open an investigation into the killing of Shireen and other crimes committed against the Palestinians.”
Milhim also urged the international community to stop the double standards when it comes to the Palestinian cause and the Israeli crimes.The killing of Abu Akleh has sparked an outpouring of condolences and condemnation, as well as calls for a thorough investigation to hold those responsible to account.
Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday, was a veteran television correspondent who became a household name across the Arab world for her bold coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Friends and colleagues described Abu Akleh as a brave and kind reporter with an “infectious laugh” who gave voice to the struggles of Palestinians over a career spanning nearly three decades.
Anthony Bellanger, the secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Abu Akleh’s killing is a “deliberate systematic targeting of a journalist”.
“Yet again journalists, wearing press vests, clearly identified were targeted by Israeli snipers,” he said in a statement. “We will seek to add this case to the ICC complaint submitted by the IFJ, detailing such systematic targeting.”
The Palestine Journalists Syndicate has decried Abu Akleh’s death as “a clear assassination perpetrated by the Israeli occupation army”.
The syndicate also held the Israeli occupation “fully responsible for this heinous crime against press freedom”, particularly after World Press Freedom Day, which is marked on May 8.
