The European Union condemned the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist working for the Arab television channel Al Jazeera, this Wednesday (11). He was shot in the head during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank. The United Nations, Washington and Paris are calling for an investigation into the incident.
Peter Stano, spokesman for European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell, said in a statement that “it is essential to conduct a thorough and independent investigation to clarify as soon as possible all circumstances surrounding the events”. He demanded that those responsible for the crime be brought to justice.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also expressed “horror” over the journalist’s death in a tweet. The message reads, “Our staff are in the field to verify the facts.”
Qatar also condemned the murder of the journalist. Tom Nides, the US ambassador to the country, asked for the death to be clarified, as did the French Foreign Ministry.
He said he was “appalled and shocked” by the incident, as did UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay and the Foreign Media Correspondents’ Association (FPA) in Israel.
Al Jazeera reporter was accused by the channel of deliberately killing him during an action organized by the Israeli army in the West Bank.
Palestinian reporter Ali Samoudi, who was injured in the attack, said that Israeli soldiers opened fire “suddenly”. “We were not asked to leave or stop shooting. They fired at us. One bullet hit me and another hit Shireen,” he said at the hospital in Jenin, where he was treated after the incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett raised the possibility of being shot down by Palestinian fighters. In a statement, he explained that “armed Palestinians” may be responsible for Shireen’s death, who also works at the Monte Carlo Doualiya radio station, which is part of the France Médias Monde network. RFI is part of it.
Palestinian Authority rejects autopsy
Natftali Bennett added that the Palestinian Authority rejected Israel’s proposal to conduct a joint autopsy.
Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, both Palestinian and American, was wearing a bulletproof vest with “press” written on it at the time of the report, according to Al Jazeera. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned, in his own words, the “cold-blooded” Israeli forces that increased operations in the occupied West Bank.
*with information from AFP
source: Noticias
