Family members and friends of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh have renewed calls for justice on the first anniversary of her killing during a week of events celebrating her life, The Guardian newspaper reported.
Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli sniper in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on May 11, 2022, while covering an Israeli army raid in the city’s refugee camp.
‘Israel Targets Palestinian Journalists’: Ramzy Baroud Speaks Out on Shireen Abu Akleh
Her assassination sparked international outrage, especially when Israeli forces attacked mourners at her funeral in Occupied East Jerusalem, almost causing the coffin to drop.
“In the year since, international efforts at accountability have moved painfully slowly,” The Guardian noted.
Paying homage to Abu Akleh, Palestinian journalist and editor of The Palestine Chronicle Ramzy Baroud said in a recent interview:
“One thing that I appreciated so much about her, aside from her humble demeanor and just kindness, she was a very kind and gentle person, is the type of journalism that she did. In Palestine, it is what we call community journalism.”
“Shireen was very well known to Israeli soldiers in that area. She’s been working there for over 20 years. They must have known who she was when they actually opened fire and killed her. In fact, many people are using the term assassination,” Baroud added.
“I think it’s important that what we make very, very clear here, is that when you have this kind of numbers, when the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate, for example, says anywhere between 500 to 700 Palestinian journalists or journalists in Palestine are targeted by the Israeli occupation, and that nearly 50 of them have been killed since the Second Intifada in 2000,” Baroud concluded.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
