On Wednesday veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. She was hit by a live bullet while covering Israeli raids in the city of Jenin. In video footage of the incident, Abu Akleh can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word “PRESS”.
In a statement, Al Jazeera Media Network condemned the “blatant murder” that violates “international laws and norms”, and called Abu Akleh’s death a “heinous crime, through which it is intended to prevent the media from fulfilling its message”.
The killing comes just days after the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians filed a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court alleging “systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists”.
Abu Akleh, 51, was born in Jerusalem. She began working for Al Jazeera in 1997 and regularly reported from across the occupied Palestinian territory.
In this episode we discuss the global reaction to her killing, and ask if there will be any accountability.