Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on May 11. It is now the question of the investigation into the circumstances of his death that arises.
The violence that broke out on Friday in Jerusalem, in front of the coffin of the Al Jazeera journalist, bears witness to this: the remains of Shireen Abu Akleh are today an issue for all the Palestinian people as well as for the Israeli authorities. This 51-year-old journalist, employed by a Qatari channel, of Palestinian and American nationality, and of Christian faith, has become the symbol of a martyred population which remains in the sights of the occupying forces. And yet, Shireen Abu Akleh could feel protected by her education, her professionalism or her international fame.
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From now on, the Israeli army seeks to control what his body could say, as when it invested the house of the journalist, Wednesday, a few hours after his death by a bullet in the head. The Palestinian Authority rejected Israel’s participation in its autopsy and any form of “joint investigation” and some may have found this suspicious.
But in reality, the Palestinians want to retain control over the material elements of the crime. While the journalist’s colleagues, present in Jenin, can attest that there were only Israeli fire at the time she was shot, Prime Minister Naftali Benett said ” likely ” only ” Armed Palestinians were responsible for his death, while the IDF pursued Hamas militants.
The need for an “international” investigation
For the Palestinian Authority, the investigation must be entrusted to the International Court of Justice. “International”, these are the words of Reporters Without Borders as well as the president of the Assises du journalisme, Jérôme Bouvier. We need an investigation independent and international “. Doesn’t Shireen Abu Akleh’s dual citizenship imply that? However, this request is taken up neither by the White House, which is content to ask for the transparency of the investigation, nor by the European Union nor by the Quai d’Orsay who prefer to speak of an investigation ” thorough “or at best” independent “.
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A video attests to this, however: a journalist with a “press” bib was shot dead while she was doing her job in the face of Israeli fire. It will be up to the investigation to determine the chain of responsibility even if it seriously implicates the Tsahal, whose soldiers enjoy a form of impunity that no longer stops at the word “press”. After all, the example comes from above since it was the Israeli general staff who asked a year ago to destroy the Al Shorouk tower which housed several Palestinian media in Gaza.
Since 2000, some thirty Palestinian journalists have died.