“I chose the journalism to be close to the people, it might not be easy to change the reality, but at least I could bring their voice to the world” SHIREEN ABU AKLEH
IUSY strongly condemns the killing of a Palestinian journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh.
The Israeli occupation forces have executed the Palestinian famous Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, with live ammunition in her head in the occupied West Bank, while covering Israeli army raids in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank on Wednesday morning. Another journalist, Ali al-Samoudi, was also wounded by a bullet in the back in line of duty.
The incident was recorded live and according to witnesses including Al-Samoudi and other journalists, Abu Akleh was wearing her press vest, helmet, id badge, and was standing with other journalists when she was executed. There were no Palestinian fighters present when the journalist was shot, and there were no direct clashes with the Israeli occupation forces in the same spot, and as asserted the journalists had been directly targeted.
IUSY condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty and holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen.
IUSY also calls on the international community to condemn and hold Israel accountable for their intentional targetting and killing of Palestinians. This crime is considered a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and international conventions and norms, which stipulate that journalists and media workers must be protected. For decades, Israel has targeted Palestinian journalists covering the occupied Palestinian territory, killing dozens of reporters and injuring and imprisoning hundreds more.
Journalists covering the occupied West Bank have become accustomed to Israeli attacks. When covering demonstrations or confrontations in the West Bank, journalists are often shot with tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.
Israel consistently violates international human rights laws in the occupied territory, but rarely is accountability ever demanded by third-party states and the global institutions responsible for ensuring and implementing justice.
We emphasize that targeting journalists constitutes a crime under the international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
Furthermore, IUSY believes that this crime reflects a policy to silence the press practiced by the Israeli occupation forces, aiming to hide the truth and stifle a counter narrative that exposes the Israeli occupation’s crimes against the Palestinian people.
Therefore, IUSY calls upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Commission of Inquiry to take a clear and unwavering position, and investigate the Israeli occupation crimes against Palestinian civilians, including journalists, as ongoing and recurrent crimes.
The State of Israel must be accountable for the ongoing Apartheid in the illegally occupied territories of Palestine.