US State Department voices support for free press after Israel's Al Jazeera closure law

'We've not always agreed with all of Al Jazeera's coverage, but it's a media organization that we engage with,' says spokesman

Rabia İclal Turan |01.04.2024 - 


WASHINGTON

The US State Department on Monday expressed support for free press after Israel’s Knesset passed legislation that allows the closure of Al Jazeera channel.

"We support the independent, free press anywhere in the world. And we think the work that the independent free press does is important everywhere in the world," said Spokesman Matthew Miller during his press briefing.

"And much of what we know about what has happened in Gaza is because of reporters who are there doing their jobs, including reporters from Al Jazeera," he added.

"We think it's well known that we've not always agreed with all of Al Jazeera's coverage, but it's a media organization that we engage with," he said. "What we will continue to make clear is that we support the work that the free press does".

Israel’s Knesset on Monday passed legislation allowing the closure of the Al Jazeera television.

Under the bill, the communications minister will be empowered to shut down foreign networks operating in Israel and confiscate their equipment if the defense minister identifies that their broadcast poses “an actual harm to the state’s security.”

Following the passage of the law, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi vowed that the Qatari-funded Al Jazeera channel would be closed down “in the coming days.”

Early Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “immediately act to close Al Jazeera” following the bill's passage in the Knesset.

Israeli parliament passes law paving way for Al Jazeera closure



Published: 01 Apr 2024 -
The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to “act immediately to stop” Al Jazeera’s operations in the country after the Israeli parliament approved a law that grants senior ministers powers to shut down foreign news networks deemed a security risk, according to Al Jazeera.

“Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited against Israeli soldiers,” Netanyahu wrote on X, on Monday. “I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity,” he said.

Meanwhile Al Jazeera in a statement said, in an escalating move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a frantic campaign against Al Jazeera, accusing it of harming Israel’s security, actively participating in the October 7 attack, and inciting against Israeli soldiers. Al Jazeera Media Network condemns these statements and sees as nothing but a dangerous ludicrous lie.

Netanyahu could not find any justifications to offer the world for his ongoing attacks on Al Jazeera and Press Freedom except to present new lies and inflammatory slanders against the Network and the rights of its employees.

Al Jazeera holds the Israeli Prime Minister responsible for the safety of its staff and Network premises around the world, following his incitement and this false accusation in a disgraceful manner.

The network stresses that this latest measure comes as part of a series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera, including the assassination of its correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, the killing of its journalists Samer AbuDaqqa and Hamza AlDahdouh, the bombing of its office in Gaza, the deliberate targeting of a number of Al Jazeera journalists and their family members, and the arrest and intimidation of its correspondents in the field.

Al Jazeera reiterates that such slanderous accusations will not deter us from continuing our bold and professional coverage, and reserves the right to pursue every legal step.

Netanyahu vows to ban Al Jazeera after Israel passes law

Legislation allows the news channel's offices in Israel to be closed


Protesters hold signs and flags calling for Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's to be removed at a demonstration in Jerusalem,
April 1, 2024. Reuters


The National
Apr 01, 2024
Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

The Israeli parliament passed a bill on Monday that gives ministers the authority to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting in the country, a move which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to put into effect.

The law, which passed by 70 votes to 10, allows the government to shut down foreign channels and gives senior ministers the power to close the offices of foreign broadcasters in Israel.

Mr Netanyahu had said he would take “immediate action” to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel once the law passes.

Mr Netanyahu's Likud party said he asked “to make sure that the law to close Al Jazeera will be approved this evening” in Israel's parliament, the Knesset.

“The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel's activities,” Mr Netanyahu said in a post on X after the law was passed.

The bill, which allows officials to ban foreign media that is deemed to be harmful to national security, had already passed its first parliamentary hurdle last month.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the move "concerning".

"We believe in the freedom of the press, it is critical. It is critically important and the United States supports the critically important work of journalists around the world,” she told reporters.

The US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the Biden administration has "not always agreed with" Al Jazeera's coverage, but highlighted its vital work in Gaza.

“Much of what we know about what has happened in Gaza is because of reporters who are there doing their jobs, including reporters from Al Jazeera," Mr Miller said.

Israel had claimed in January that an Al Jazeera staff journalist and a freelancer killed in an air strike in Gaza were “terror operatives”.

The following month it said another journalist for the channel, wounded in a separate strike, was a “deputy company commander” with Hamas.

Al Jazeera has fiercely denied the accusations and accused Israel of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the besieged enclave where Israeli forces have been fighting Hamas since October.

Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu was killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza in December. The attack also wounded the channel's bureau chief in the enclave, Wael Al Dahdouh, whose wife and two children were killed in an Israeli strike in October.

His son Hamza Dahdouh, who was also an Al Jazeera journalist, was killed in another strike in January.

Since the war began, 90 Palestinian journalists have been killed and 16 more have been arrested, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. More than 32,800 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in almost six months of war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

- With reporting from agencies

Knesset approves bill to shut down 

Al Jazeera in Israel

New law approved in second and third reading stipulates Communications Minister could act against foreign media channels in Israel should they be found to harm the country; White House spokeswoman criticizes bill

Moran Azulay|

YNET


The Knesset approved Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s bill ordering Qatari news network Al Jazeera to cease its operations in the country in a final reading on Monday. "Hamas mouthpieces won’t have any freedom of expression in Israel. Al Jazeera will be shut down in the coming days,” Karhi said in a statement.

The law promoted by Karhi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to shut down foreign channels (including Al Jazeera, Al Mayadeen, and others), was approved by the Knesset Plenum in second and third readings.

The law stipulates the Communications Minister could act to shut down foreign media channels in the country should the prime minister find it is harming Israel after reviewing at least one security assessment on the issue and conditioned by the approval of the government or security cabinet.

Actions will be approved by orders signed by the Communications Minister, and will include: closing down the channel's offices in the country, confiscating broadcasting equipment, preventing channel reporters from broadcasting, removing the channel from cable and satellite providers in the country, blocking its websites in the country, and more.

"We have approved a quick and efficient tool to act against those who use the freedom of the press to harm Israel's security and IDF soldiers and incite terrorism during wartime," Karhi said in a statement following the law’s approval.

שלמה קרעי
(צילום: אלכס קולומויסקי)

Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the law on social media, writing on his X account: "Al Jazeera has harmed Israel's security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited violence against IDF soldiers. The time has come to remove Hamas' mouthpiece from our country. The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel.

 I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel's activities.”

Despite Netanyahu’s praise, other members of his Likud party criticized the bill’s wordings. "The bill as presented by the Communications Minister is both ineffective and damaging," Likud MK Amit Halevi told Ynet. "It’s absurd that our coalition will vote in favor of such a bill. It primarily reflects an extreme lack of judgment aimed at gaining popularity."

According to Halevi, the approved law in its current form isn’t effective. "The overwhelming majority of Al Jazeera viewers in Israel’s Arab sector watch it via satellite dishes or the internet, not Israeli broadcasters. The agency’s internet servers and offices will reopen in Ramallah if shut down in Israel.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the law in a statement, saying, “We believe in the freedom of the press. It is critical. It is critically important, and the United States supports the critically important work of journalists around the world, and that includes those who are reporting in the conflict in Gaza."

“So, we believe that work is important. The freedom of the press is important. And if those reports are true, it is concerning to us," she added.

WAR CENSORSHIP
Netanyahu Orders Shut Down of Al Jazeera

May 5, 2024


On Sunday, May 5th, Netanyahu’s government voted to shut down Al Jazeera, close its offices in occupied Palestinian territories, and confiscate broadcast equipment, according to Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Palestine, Walid Al-Omari.

“The government headed by me unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X.

The closure will go into effect immediately, according to Israel’s Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi. It came a month after the Israeli parliament approved a bill allowing the temporary shutdown of foreign broadcasters, including Al Jazeera. The decision is valid for 45 days and could be renewed.

‘Israel’ has been inciting against the Qatar-based network, studying its closure as a result of Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Israeli war on Gaza, accusing ‘Israel’ of committing a genocide in Gaza. The network accused Netanyahu of continuing a “frantic campaign” against it.

Al Jazeera is one of the last remaining international media networks reporting on Israel’s war on Gaza from the ground.

“Netanyahu could not find any justifications to offer the world for his ongoing attacks on Al Jazeera and Press Freedom except to present new lies and inflammatory slanders against the Network and the rights of its employees,” the network said in a statement.

“Al Jazeera holds the Israeli Prime Minister responsible for the safety of its staff and Network premises around the world, following his incitement and this false accusation in a disgraceful manner.”

Since October, Israeli occupation forces have killed, wounded and detained several Al Jazeera journalists reporting from Gaza.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the decision in a post on X, calling it “repressive legislation” aiming to “censor the channel for its coverage of the war in Gaza”.

Israel bans Al Jazeera over Gaza war coverage

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Al Jazeera will be banned in Israel, with its offices closed down and equipment confiscated.

The New Arab Staff
05 May, 2024

Al Jazeera has been commended for its reporting of Israel's war on Gaza since October 7 [Getty]

The cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has on Sunday unanimously decided to shut down news channel Al Jazeera’s operations within Israel, a government statement announced.

"The government under my leadership has unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be shut down in Israel," Netanyahu’s statement read on X.

Netanyahu authorised Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to immediately order the cessation of the channel's broadcasts in Israel, in both Arabic and English.

The ban will also force Al Jazeera to close its offices in Israel, with Karhi ordering the confiscation of equipment used by its personnel to broadcast, as reported by Haaretz.

Access to the network's website will now be blocked from within Israel.

The head of Al Jazeera in Israel and the Palestinian territories described the Israeli government's decision to shutter the station's local operations as "dangerous" and motivated by politics rather than professional considerations.

Al Jazeera's legal team was preparing a response, Walid Omary told Reuters, in possible anticipation of a court appeal against the decision.

The move to ban Al Jazeera has been under consideration for some time, with Israel’s hostility toward the Qatari news network intensifying since the beginning of its war on Gaza following the events of 7 October.

In early April, the Israeli Knesset granted Netanyahu the authority to ban broadcasts from foreign channels deemed a security threat, specifically with Al Jazeera in mind.

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“The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel's activities,” Netanyahu said on X at the time.

In response to the law's passage, Al Jazeera stated, "This latest measure is part of a series of systematic Israeli attacks aimed at silencing Al Jazeera."

The Middle East’s largest news network reported that Israel’s action against it included the killing of two network correspondents and the bombing of its office during the Gaza war on 7 October.

Without providing evidence, Israel accused the two slain Al Jazeera journalists of being "terror operatives," a claim that the network vehemently denied, stating that Israel was "systematically targeting" its staff.

In December, Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza, Wael al-Dahdouh, was also wounded in an Israeli strike that killed the network's cameraman.

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This incident followed the killing of Dahdouh’s wife, two of his children, and a grandson in October, after an Israeli strike on their home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Last month, US spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Israel’s then-proposed ban on Al Jazeera was “concerning”.

The ban also threatens to raise tensions with Qatar, at a time when the Gulf state is playing a crucial role in mediation efforts to halt the war in Gaza.

It also comes amid Israel’s wider attacks on press freedom, with its assault on Gaza being the deadliest for media workers in recent history.

More than 100 journalists, almost all of whom are Palestinian, have been killed by Israel in seven months of its war.

Al Jazeera outraged after Israel moves to shut channel's offices
2024/05/05

The lettering and logo of the Arab news channel Al-Jazeera can be seen on the company's premises. 

Tim Brakemeier/dpa

Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera on Sunday decried a decision by the Israeli government to close its offices in the country, saying it would pursue "all avenues" available to protect its rights and employees.

It comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday his Cabinet had unanimously decided to close Al Jazeera's operations in Israel.

Israel accuses the Doha-based broadcaster of biased reporting on the ongoing war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, Al Jazeera categorically denied the accusation.

"The Netanyahu government has decided in a highly misleading and calumnious step to endorse the order to shut down Al Jazeera offices in Israel," the network said.

The channel condemned what it called an "Israeli criminal act" that violates the human right of access to information.

"We confirm that we will pursue all avenues at international and legal organizations to protect our rights and crews," it added without elaborating.

Last month, the Israeli parliament approved what is known as the "Al Jazeera law" which allows for broadcasters from abroad to be shut down if they are deemed to pose a risk to state security.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Al Jazeera has reported extensively on the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip and shown images of death and destruction rarely shown on Israeli television.

The channel also regularly shows videos of attacks on Israeli soldiers by Hamas' military arm, the Qassam Brigades.

© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

 ‘Dark day for the media’: Israel raids Al Jazeera’s offices after banning broadcaster

By Galit Altstein
May 6, 2024 — 

Jerusalem: Israeli officials seized equipment from Al Jazeera hours after the nation’s cabinet approved a decision to shutter the Qatar-based TV news network’s operations in the Jewish state – an unprecedented step against an international media outlet.

Inspectors from the communications ministry, accompanied by police, arrived at Al Jazeera offices in Jerusalem on Monday (AEST), confiscated equipment and cut off access. Al Jazeera’s broadcasts and access to its website have been blocked throughout Israel.


Palestinian politics analyst Nehad Abu Ghoush broadcasting from inside the network’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.CREDIT:AP

Shlomo Karhi, Israel’s communications minister, posted a video clip of the raid on X, formerly Twitter, where the inspectors can be seen and heard naming the equipment they found.

Karhi has been a key advocate for the termination of the network’s activity within Israel. He’s also called Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, biased and threatened to cut its budgets.

Al Jazeera denounced Israel’s move, calling it a “criminal act that violates human rights in access to information”. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has petitioned the move to Israel’s Supreme Court.

“This is a dark day for the media and a dark day for democracy,” Israel’s Foreign Press Association said in a statement. “Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station.”

An Al Jazeera reporter speaking live from the network’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah. CREDIT:AP

The association expressed concern that Israel’s government “may not be done” as the prime minister now has the authority to target other foreign media he deems to be “acting against the state”.

Several ministers from Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party abstained from the vote and criticised its timing, underlining escalating tensions between the various factions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Gantz’s party said that while it supports shutting down Qatari-owned Al Jazeera, Israel’s war cabinet had agreed to postpone any decision at the request of security officials, including the head of Mossad, to avoid harming ceasefire negotiation efforts now under way in Egypt.

Israel and Hamas, through intermediaries, continue to work towards a deal that would involve the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Qatar has been a dominant mediator since the war in Gaza broke out following Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.


The idea of shutting down the news channel has been circulating within Netanyahu’s cabinet, comprised mostly of hard-right, nationalist and Jewish Orthodox parties, since the early days of war.

Al Jazeera was blamed by Israel for what were termed false reports that heavily relied on what was thought to be Hamas propaganda.

In late March, the channel ran a story claiming that Israeli soldiers had raped and murdered women at Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital, which the Israel Defence Forces denied. It was later removed from all of Al Jazeera’s platforms.

A law allowing foreign media outlets to be shuttered in Israel was approved by the nation’s parliament, the Knesset, in early April. It would give Israel’s premier the power to instruct the communications ministry to act against any foreign media entity deemed to be “harming the country,” pending the opinion of at least one security official and the approval of the cabinet or security cabinet.

The media outlet can then be subject to a range of actions, including shutting down its offices in Israel, the confiscation of broadcast equipment, prevention of broadcasts by the channel’s reporters, removal of the channel from Israeli cable and satellite companies, and blocking of its websites in Israel.

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“Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre, and incited against IDF soldiers,” Netanyahu said when the law was passed. “It is time to remove the voice of Hamas from our country.”

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre criticised the move at the time as a concerning step. The US supports the work of journalists around the world, including those working in Gaza, she said.

Bloomberg

Al Jazeera condemns Israel’s ‘criminal’ decision to close offices

By

 MBeditor

Qatar-based network Al Jazeera on Sunday condemned as “criminal” a move by the Israeli government to ban the broadcaster from operating over its coverage of the Gaza war.

“We condemn and denounce this criminal act by Israel that violates the human right to access information,” the channel said in a statement, adding that it would take legal action.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday his government had decided unanimously to close the channel, and hours later it went off-air.

Al Jazeera has been the focus of months of criticism by Netanyahu and his government in the latest round of a long-running feud that began well before Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

The network said it would “pursue all available legal channels through international legal institutions in its quest to protect both its rights and journalists, as well as the public’s right to information”.

“Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law,” the broadcaster said.

“Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera from its commitment to cover,” it added. 

Since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, Al Jazeera has aired continuous on-the-ground reporting on the effects of Israel’s campaign.

The network’s office in Gaza has been bombed in the conflict and two of its correspondents have been killed.

Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said he had issued the order to shutter the channel, confiscate equipment and restrict broadcasting to Al Jazeera’s websites in a separate joint statement with Netanyahu.

Al Jazeera said its crew accreditations had been withdrawn and Israel had banned media service providers from transmitting its broadcasts.

Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera ‘dark day for media’: Foreign Press Association

Israeli authorities raid Al Jazeera offices after government decision to close television

Rania R.a. Abushamala |05.05.2024 -



ISTANBUL

The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents foreign media in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, has condemned a decision by the Israeli government to close Al Jazeera television.

“With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station,” it said in a statement.

“This is a dark day for the media. This is a dark day for democracy.”

Israeli authorities raided the offices of Doha-based Al Jazeera television in Jerusalem and confiscated its equipment on Sunday, shortly after a government decision to shut down the broadcaster.

Video footage released by the office of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi showed Israeli officials entering the office and documenting the equipment inside.

According to The Times of Israel newspaper, the news channel was pulled off the air in the country and is no longer available on its two biggest TV providers Yes and Hot.

“We urge the government to reverse this harmful step and uphold its commitment to freedom of the press — including outlets whose coverage it may not like,” the FPA said.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, for its part, termed the Israeli ban of the Qatar-owned television as a “war crime.”

"This decision poses a great danger to the lives of journalists working for Al Jazeera, and in all international and local media outlets,” it said in a statement.

Last month, Israel’s Knesset (parliament) passed legislation allowing the closure of the Al Jazeera television.

Under the legislation, the communications minister is empowered to shut down foreign networks operating in Israel and confiscate their equipment if the defense minister identifies that their broadcast poses “an actual harm to the state’s security.”

Al Jazeera has an office in Israel and a team of correspondents working year-round, including covering Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 34,600 people since Oct. 7, 2023.

Gaza War: Palestinian journalists win top press freedom prize

“We have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression,” Mauricio Weibel, who chaired the jury, said in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day.

 (PHOTO CREDIT: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149301)

ByAgency Report
May 3, 2024

The Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza have been named winners of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
The top award for reporters who have witnessed the destruction of much of their homeland under Israel’s relentless bombardment came at the recommendation of an international jury of media professionals.

“In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances.

“We have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression,” Mauricio Weibel, who chaired the jury, said in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day.


World Press Freedom Day is celebrated on 3 May to raise awareness of the importance of press freedom and the right to freedom of expression for all other human rights.


The UN science, education and culture agency’s chief Audrey Azoulay, said the Prize reminded everyone of “the importance of collective action to ensure that journalists around the world can continue to carry out their essential work to inform and investigate.”

The ongoing conflict in Gaza is having grave consequences for journalists.

Since 7 October 2023, UNESCO has condemned and deplored the deaths of 26 journalists and media workers in the line of work, based upon information from its international NGO partners.

UNESCO is supporting journalists reporting from conflict and crisis zones which includes distributing essential supplies to journalists in Gaza, and has established safe working spaces and provided emergency grants for journalists in Ukraine and Sudan.

2024 World Press Freedom is dedicated to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis.

Awareness of all aspects of the global environmental crisis and its consequences is essential to build democratic societies.

READ ALSO: Gaza: If this is not genocide, what then is it?, By Femi Fani-Kayode

Journalists encounter significant challenges in seeking and disseminating information on contemporary issues, such as supply chain problems, climate migration, extractive industries, `illegal mining, pollution, poaching, animal trafficking, deforestation, or climate change.

Ensuring the visibility of these issues is crucial for promoting peace and democratic values worldwide.

(NAN)

World Press Freedom Day: Gaza conflict deadliest for journalists

As the war in Gaza becomes the deadliest conflict for journalists, Al Jazeera looks at press freedom in the past year.

Colleagues and family members pray at the funeral of Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa in Khan Younis, Gaza [File: Mahmud Hams/AFP]

By Hanna Duggal and Marium Ali
Published On 3 May 2024

Every year on May 3, UNESCO commemorates World Press Freedom Day.

It is being marked today at a particularly perilous time for journalists globally, with Israel’s war on Gaza becoming the deadliest conflict for journalists and media workers.


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“When we lose a journalist, we lose our eyes and ears to the outside world. We lose a voice for the voiceless,” Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement today.

“World Press Freedom Day was established to celebrate the value of truth and to protect the people who work courageously to uncover it.”
Deadliest period for journalists in Gaza

More than 100 journalists and media workers, the vast majority Palestinian, have been killed in the first seven months of war in Gaza, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Gaza’s media office has the number at more than 140 killed, which averages to five journalists killed every week since October 7.

Since the start of the war, at least 34,596 Palestinians have been killed and 77,816 others injured in Gaza. More than 8,000 others are missing, buried under the rubble.

“Gaza’s reporters must be protected, those who wish must be evacuated, and Gaza’s gates must be opened to international media.” Jonathan Dagher, Head of RSF’s Middle East desk said in a statement in April.
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“The few reporters who have been able to leave bear witness to the same terrifying reality of journalists being attacked, injured and killed … Palestinian journalism must be protected as a matter of urgency.”


Al Jazeera journalists killed and injured in Gaza

On January 7, Hamza Dahdouh, the eldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, was killed by an Israeli missile in Khan Younis. Hamza, who was a journalist like his father, was in a vehicle near al-Mawasi, a supposedly safe area that Israel designated, with another journalist, Mustafa Thuraya, who was also killed in the attack.

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According to reports from Al Jazeera correspondents, Hamza and Mustafa’s vehicle was targeted as they were trying to interview civilians displaced by previous bombings.Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh, centre, hugs his daughter during the funeral of his son Hamza Wael Dahdouh, a journalist with the Al Jazeera television network, who was killed in a reported Israeli air strike in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on January 7, 2024 [AFP]

The Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemned the attack, adding: “The assassination of Mustafa and Hamza … whilst they were on their way to carry out their duty in the Gaza Strip, reaffirms the need to take immediate necessary legal measures against the occupation forces to ensure that there is no impunity.”[Al Jazeera]

On December 15, 2023, Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa was hit in an Israeli drone attack that also injured Wael Dahdouh, while they were reporting at Farhana school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Abudaqa bled to death for more than four hours as emergency workers were unable to reach him because the Israeli army would not let them.

Abudaqa was the 13th Al Jazeera journalist killed on duty since the launch of the network in 1996.Al Jazeera established a monument at its headquarters in Doha carrying the names of those who have paid the ultimate price in the line of duty [Al Jazeera]

In 2022, Palestinian reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, renowned across the Arab world, was killed by the Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank while reporting.

Al Jazeera has called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for attacks on reporters.
How many journalists have been killed around the world in 2024?

So far in 2024, 25 journalists and media workers have been killed, according to the CPJ.

At least 20 of those killed were in Palestine. While two were killed in Colombia, and one each in Pakistan, Sudan and Myanmar.
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In 2023, more than three-quarters of the 99 journalists and media workers killed worldwide died in the Israel-Gaza war, the majority of them Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

“Since the Israel-Gaza war began, journalists have been paying the highest price – their lives – to defend our right to the truth. Each time a journalist dies or is injured, we lose a fragment of that truth,” CPJ programme director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said.

(Al Jazeera)

Where is press freedom most restricted?

To measure the pulse of press freedom around the globe, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) publishes an annual index. It ranks the political, economic, and sociocultural context as well as the legal framework and security of the press in 180 countries and territories.

According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Eritrea has the worst press freedom, followed by Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran.

According to RSF, all independent media have been banned in Eritrea since the transition to a dictatorship in September 2001. The media is directly controlled by the Ministry of Information – a news agency, a few publications and Eri TV.

How many journalists are imprisoned?

As of December 1, 2023, 320 journalists and media workers were imprisoned, according to CPJ.

China (44 behind bars), Myanmar (43), Belarus (28), Russia (22) and Vietnam (19) rank as having the highest number of imprisoned journalists.
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China has long been “one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists”, according to the CPJ.

Of the 44 journalists imprisoned in China, nearly half are Uighurs, where they have accused Beijing of crimes against humanity for its mass detentions and harsh repression of the region’s mostly-Muslim ethnic groups.

(Al Jazeera)
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Al Jazeera cameraman dies after Israeli attack in southern Gaza, network says

WHERE ISRAEL TOLD EVERYONE TO GO TO BE SAFE

Abeer Salmam, Kareem Khadder and Lucas Lilieholm, CNN
Sat, December 16, 2023 at 3:59 AM MST·5 min read

An Al Jazeera journalist has died after being badly injured during an Israeli attack in southern Gaza and then forced to wait five hours for medical attention, the network said on Friday.

Camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa died of wounds sustained in the attack, the Qatar-based network said, adding that he was bleeding for hours before medical personnel could reach him due to heavy shelling in the city.

Hundreds gathered in southern Gaza to mourn Abu Daqqa on Saturday as his body was laid to rest on Saturday, with his mother Umm Maher, sobbing as she knelt down to pray over her son’s grave.

Al Jazeera correspondent and Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh was also injured in the attack, the Qatar-based news network said in a statement to CNN on Friday.

Dahdouh was eventually evacuated to a hospital, but Abu Daqqa’s injury was too severe to survive, according to Walid Alomari, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief for Jerusalem and the West Bank. “Too many in Gaza bleed and die because ambulances can’t reach them,” he said.

The network went on to accuse Israel of “systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families.”

A statement called on the international community to take “immediate action to hold the Israeli government and military accountable.”

CNN cannot independently verify the allegations. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment but has not immediately heard back.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) data, Abu Daqqa is the first Al Jazeera journalist to have been killed in the latest Israel-Hamas conflict since October 7.

Four other Al Jazeera journalists were injured, CPJ says, including three in southern Lebanon and Dahdouh, who had also lost his wife, daughter, son and grandson in an Israeli attack on Khan Younis late October.
Under fire

Abu Daqqa and Dahdouh were on assignment in the southern city of Khan Younis when they came under fire.

Dahdouh later recounted the moments leading up to the incident. He said it took place when they were heading back to an ambulance belonging to the Palestinian Civil Defense after they were done filming in an area of Khan Younis that was hard to reach.

“Suddenly, something happened, a big thing, I couldn’t tell what it was, I only felt something big happened and pushed me to the ground, the helmet fell and the microphone,” Dahdouh told Al Jazeera while on a hospital bed before being informed his colleague had lost his life.

“I saw there was an intense bleeding from my shoulder and arm, and I realized if I stayed, I will be bleeding there in that location, and no one will reach me,” he added.

Dahdouh said he was able to reach Civil Defense staff hundreds of meters away but was unable to help Abu Daqqa, fearing they would be targetted.

Al Jazeera said on air that Abu Daqqa was bleeding for five hours and no-one could reach to him due to the situation around him.

At least 17 others were killed and dozens of others were injured early Friday morning after artillery fire struck the city’s Haifa school and a residential home in the area.

Three civil defense workers in Gaza whose rescue efforts at the school were being covered by the al Jazeera team were also killed, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on its military operations in the area.

On Saturday, the body of Abu Daqqa, wrapped in a white cloth, was carried on the shoulders of the assembled crowd from Al-Nasser Medical complex in Khan Younis to a nearby cemetery. On his chest were the press vest and helmet he had been wearing when he was wounded.

Mourners gather around the body of Al Jazeera cameraman Abu Daqqa on Saturday. - Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

Friends and relatives attended the funeral. - Bassam Masoud/Reuters

The funeral was attended by friends, family and colleagues, many of them wearing their press vests. Abu Daqqa’s wife and children live in Belgium.

Khan Younis has been heavily bombarded by the Israeli military since a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel broke down on 1 December.

As of December 15, preliminary investigations by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found at least 64 journalists and media workers were among the thousands killed in Gaza since Israel’s siege began on October 7, following Hamas’ deadly terror attacks.

The majority of journalists killed in this war have been Palestinians, alongside four Israeli and three Lebanese members of the press, according to CPJ. Thirteen journalists have also been reported injured, 13 are missing, and 19 have reportedly been arrested, the organization said.

CPJ said Friday it was alarmed by the drone strike that killed Abu Daqqa and wounded Dahdouh and called on “international authorities to independently investigate the attack and hold those responsible to account.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera, CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg reiterated a call for the protection of journalists and emphasized the importance of their work in Gaza, which she called an “unprecedented” challenge.

“We’re really only left with Gaza journalists doing this really important documentation work,” she said.

Abu Daqqa’s colleagues have been paying tribute to his bravery following his death, with Al Jazeera investigative reporter Tamer Al-Mishal describing him as “professional” and “a great cameraman and editor [who] doesn’t fear anything.”

“I spoke to him a few days ago and told him ‘Why don’t you join your family abroad?’ And he told me they will be back soon when this war is over,” Al-Mishal said.

Abu Daqqa had decided not to leave Gaza, Al-Mishal added, noting that the cameraman had worked for more than 20 years for Al Jazeera.

Hiba Akila, another colleague of Abu Daqqa, remembered him as a cheerful co-worker.

“Samer was not only an optimistic, joyful person who loved life, but he was also a journalist who upholds his journalistic mission, always giving us a boost whenever we felt pain and desperation,” said the Al Jazeera correspondent in a broken voice as she reported live from Rafah on Friday night.

“When we were supporting and comforting Samer that soon he will meet his family, he would say, ‘I will not go to them, they will come here, and we will be together in Gaza,’” she added.

Al Jazeera Journalist Bleeds To Death After Israeli Strike In Gaza, Outlet Says

Lydia O'Connor
Fri, December 15, 2023 


The news outlet Al Jazeera said Friday that one of its camera operators, Samer Abudaqa, was killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza and left for hours bleeding to death.

Abudaqa was reporting with his colleague Wael Dahdouh at a school turned shelter in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, on Friday when they were hit by the strike. Dahdouh is being treated for minor injuries from shrapnel.

In a statement, the Qatar-based network said it condemns the attack “in the strongest terms” and “holds Israel accountable for systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families.”

The network described a brutal end to Abudaqa’s life.

Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Samer Abu Daqa has been killed, and his colleague Wael al-Dahdouh was wounded in an Israeli attack in Gaza's Khan Younis https://t.co/ARxWAoA2WMpic.twitter.com/EBc2yAe8WB 

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 15, 2023

“Following Samer’s injury, he was left to bleed to death for over 5 hours, as Israeli forces prevented ambulances and rescue workers from reaching him, denying the much-needed emergency treatment,” Al Jazeera said in a statement.

In audio shared by the network, one of his colleagues recounted through tears how hard it was for Abudaqa to be away from his family during the Israel-Hamas war.

“Samer’s wife and kids were in Belgium,” Al Jazeera journalist Youmna ElSayed said. “Just before the war, he was able to go to Belgium for the first time and see his kids and wife for the first time after six years. When he returned and the war started, he was relieved that at least his kids and wife were not in Gaza to live through all this horror and terror. And he was just waiting for the war to end so that he can go to them.”

She continued: “There’s nothing to describe our pain. Samer was really a special person to all of us, and a very good friend.”

Smoke rises from Israeli air strikes on the city of Khan Younis, Gaza, on Friday.

Smoke rises from Israeli air strikes on the city of Khan Younis, Gaza, on Friday.

The International Federation of Journalists also denounced the deadly strike, saying, “We condemn the attack and reiterate our demand that journalists’ lives must be safeguarded.”

Abudaqa is now one of more than 90 media workers killed on the job this year, according to the IFJ’s count, with at least 68 of them dying while covering the Israel-Hamas war since the Oct. 7 attack on the country.

Khan Younis, the second-largest city in Gaza, has become the epicenter of the conflict in recent weeks, despite it being one of the main areas where Palestinians are fleeing for safety. One analysis of satellite data showed that approximately 20% of structures in Khan Younis had likely been damaged or destroyed by Monday.

The Israel Defense Forces say that’s because the “entire leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization — both military and political — proliferated in the area.”

Palestinian officials say that Israeli forces have killed nearly 19,000 people in Gaza, nearly half of them children. Israeli officials say that over 1,100 people died in Hamas’ October attack on the country.

Al Jazeera Journalist Whose Family Was Killed in Airstrike Is Wounded in Gaza. Another Has Died

Mallory Moench

TIME
Sat, December 16, 2023

Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh bids a heart-wrenching farewell to his wife, son, and daughter during their funeral service in the heart of Gaza's Nuseirat camp on Oct. 26, 2023. Credit - Mohammed Zaanoun—Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

One Al Jazeera journalist has died and another is wounded after what is believed was an Israeli missile attack at a school in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Friday.

Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh was injured, but Al Jazeera confirmed the death of cameraperson Samer Abudaqa. Dahdouh, whose wife, son, daughter and grandson were killed in an airstrike in October, was wounded by shrapnel in his upper arm and rushed to receive medical care at Nasser Hospital.

Around 6:30 p.m. local time, an ambulance was dispatched for Abudaqa after it received approval from Israeli forces, but it had to turn back because rubble blocked the road, the news outlet reported. Arrangements were being made to get a bulldozer to clear the path as of 7:30 p.m., but by the time medical teams got to him, he had died.

Abudaqa was the father of four children and was a resident of Abasan al-Kabira near Khan Younis.

Dahdouh, who returned to broadcasting on Saturday, with bandages on his arm and hand, said that he and Abudawa were with civil defense rescuers who were working to evacuate a family after their house was bombed when Dahdouh heard an explosion that knocked him out.

Three civil defense team members were also killed at the school, according to the Palestinian Interior Ministry. Ramy Budair, a journalist with the Palestinian New Press agency, was also killed.

In a Friday afternoon press release, the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “deeply saddened” by the news and called “on international authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the attack to hold the perpetrators to account.”

In an emailed response to TIME, the Israel Defense Forces said that it “takes all operationally feasible measures to protect both civilians and journalists. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists. Given the ongoing exchanges of fire, remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks. The IDF will continue to counter threats while persisting to mitigate harm to civilians.”

Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh receives medical treatment at Nasser Hospital after being wounded in Khan Yunis, Gaza on December 15, 2023.

Hani Alshaer—Anadolu/Getty Images

On Oct. 25, Dahdouh received the news while on air that his immediate family was killed when the home they were sheltering in was hit by an airstrike. He returned to work just days later.

Attacks on another journalist were also reported on Friday by the Times of Israel. Video footage shows border police officers beating Palestinian photojournalist Mustafa Haruf with his gun in East Jerusalem. Haruf was then continuously kicked in his head and body and is heard crying out in pain.

Haruf says that he was attacked after leaving a prayer protest in Wadi Joz, which Israeli forces later separated.

Border police said that it suspended the officers seen beating Haruf in the video, and is opening an investigation into the attack, the Times of Israel adds. An earlier statement by police indicated that journalists in the area refused to evacuate.

Friday’s incident underscored the war's deadly toll on Gazan journalists, who are striving to survive the same dangers and deprivations they’re covering. Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage, Israeli’s airstrike campaign and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 18,000 people, the Hamas-run health ministry said.

Read More: Palestinian Journalists Offer a Rare Glimpse Into Life in Gaza. But for How Long?

A man carries the vest worn by veteran Al-Jazeera correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh (not pictured) when he was injured. AFP/Getty Images

At least 63 journalists and media workers have also died as of Dec. 15, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported. The grim tally includes the deadliest month for journalist deaths in a conflict since the organization began gathering data in 1992.

Nonprofits have pushed for more protections for the press. The International Federation of Journalists said it was “deeply shocked” to hear about Friday’s injuries. “We condemn the attack and reiterate our demand that journalists’ lives must be safeguarded,” it said in a post on X.

In one of the first press deaths of the war, a Reuters video journalist was killed in Lebanon on Oct. 13. A Reporters Without Borders investigation claimed the journalists’ vehicle, with its clear press marking, was targeted. The IDF told TIME on Nov. 4 that the incident was under review. The day before the journalist's death, they had requested that the U.N.'s peacekeeping force verify there were no civilians in the combat zone. They added that entering combat zones “creates a real and immediate danger to civilian lives." On that day, the IDF used tank and artillery fire in response to a missile that hit Israel's security fence, the statement said.

Other journalists from Al Jazeera, whose headquarters are in Qatar, have been injured or killed previously while covering Israel-Palestinian conflict. Last year, a U.N. body determined that Israeli forces shot and killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank, not indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians as initially claimed by Israeli authorities, the international agency said.

Additional reporting by Solcyré Burga

Relatives of the Al Jazeera cameraman, Samer Abu Daqqa, who was killed during an Israeli airstrike, mourn over his body, during his funeral in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. 

(AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

Israel Kills Family of Al Jazeera Bureau Chief in Gaza


After the Israeli army killed his family, Al Jazeera bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh has denounced the army’s attempt to “take revenge” on him for his coverage of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.


Molly Rosenzweig November 3, 2023
Photo: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images

In an attack on journalism, the state of Israel killed the family of Al Jazeera Arabic bureau chief and veteran journalist Wael al-Dahdouh. His son Mahmoud; his daughter Sham; his wife, Umm Hamza; and several others were killed in an airstrike. Dozens of others were injured, including other members of Dahdouh’s family, at a relative’s home in central Gaza where they were sheltering. Dahdouh was covering Israel’s airstrikes across Gaza live with Al Jazeera when he received the news of his family’s murders.

For many across the Arab world, Dahdouh is the face of Al Jazeera’s Gaza coverage. Many are saying that this was a targeted attack to silence journalists who show the true face of Israel’s grisly occupation and the extent of its genocidal attacks in Gaza. If that’s true, it isn’t the only attempt at censorship — at least 29 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7.

Al Jazeera, the world’s largest Arabic-language news outlet, has been covering Israel’s bombardment of Gaza since it began. Israel has barred anyone from leaving or entering Gaza, which is now under complete siege, and it is not allowing electricity, fuel, or other supplies to enter. Therefore, Israel’s airstrikes are being covered by the few media outlets that were already there when it began, including Al Jazeera. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters and Agence France-Presse that they couldn’t guarantee the safety of their journalists in Gaza.

Because of Al Jazeera’s coverage of the relentless Israeli assault on Gaza — and because it is a long-standing critic of Israel that has documented its brutality in Palestine — many officials seek to shut it down. Earlier this week, the Israeli government approved “emergency regulations” that would shut down broadcasters deemed a threat to the “security of the state.” Israeli communications minister Shlomo Karhi said the legislation was aimed specifically at Al Jazeera. The ban is expected to be approved by Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

But it’s not just the Israeli state that is attempting to control Al Jazeera’s coverage. The United States is trying to use its geopolitical might to silence media outlets that are sympathetic to Palestine. This week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked the Qatari prime minister to “rein in” the network and its reporting of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

This is not the first time that Al Jazeera reporters have been targeted. On October 14, Al Jazeera reported that “Israel has once again attempted to silence the media by targeting journalists. … Israeli forces fired a guided missile at Al Jazeera crew in southern Lebanon, wounding two and killing a Reuters journalist.” And let’s not forget last year, when Palestinian American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered by an Israeli soldier while reporting in Jenin, West Bank.

Attacks on free speech and journalism by the “only democracy in the Middle East” also include, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, “more than 10 incidents of assaults, arrests, threats, cyberattacks, and censorship targeting journalists carrying out their work in Israel and in the two Palestinian territories, Gaza and the West Bank.”

Zionist propaganda and Israel’s imperialist allies repeat ad nauseam that Israel is “the only democracy in the Middle East,” yet it is seeking to silence and censor the few voices that manage to speak from Gaza, as well as keeping the entry of foreign journalists blocked. This “democracy” is taking these undemocratic measures to silence news about its ethnic cleansing and collective punishment of Palestinians. On October 27, Israel cut off the internet in Gaza with airstrikes to prevent further news and on-the-ground footage on social media from getting out.

The reports on the ground tell us what is actually happening and Israel’s genocide, which is leading millions around the world to protest Israel’s atrocities, along with journalists who are resigning from mainstream networks in protest. The state of Israel needs consensus to launch its genocidal attacks, and reports of what is actually happening make it harder to accept the narrative that Israel, its imperialist allies, and the bourgeois media are pushing: that Israel is merely exercising its “right to defend itself.” The attack on press freedom will be used against all who stand up to Israel. We have to protect the right to fight for Palestinian liberation. We condemn the silencing of journalists and social media posts reporting on Palestine, both on the ground in Gaza and throughout the world, and demand an immediate end to the U.S.-backed Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people and U.S. aid to Israel.

Initial probe shows that Israeli forces shot rounds towards Shireen Abu Akleh: HAARETZ

Ahram Online , Wednesday 11 May 2022

An initial probe by the Israeli Army showed that the Israeli forces have fired dozens of bullets during the raid in the West Bank that led to the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh (51) on Wednesday, Israeli newspaper HAARETZ reported.


Slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

While the initial probe says that most of the Israeli fire was directed southwards, and Abu Akleh and a Reuters photographer who was wounded were positioned to the north of the Israeli forces, it admitted that ‘it appears that some Israeli fire was directed northwards as well, according to HAARETZ.

The probe is inconclusive if Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli fire or Palestinian gunmen while she was covering a military raid in Jenin on Wednesday.

According to sources, who spoke to the Hebrew newspaper, the probe showed that Abu Akleh was about 150 meters away from Israeli military forces when she was shot and killed.

M-16 Rifle

Israeli soldiers from the elite Duvdevan Unit fired a few dozen bullets during the raid in Jenin, the investigation shows, but whether it was Israeli or Palestinian gunfire that killed the Al Jazeera reporter is unknown.

The bullet, which struck her in the head, is 5.56 millimeters in diameter and was shot from an M16 rifle, but Haaretz said that ‘since such rifles are used by both the Israeli forces and Palestinian cells in the West Bank, the information is insufficient to determine which side fired the bullet’.

Sources told the newspaper that in the course of an arrest outside the Jenin refugee camp, 'hundreds of bullets were shot at Israeli troops, who responded by firing dozens of bullets at specific targets'.

The sources claimed that some of the rounds fired at them came from a gunman who they spotted on the roof of a house, an armed man peering from a window and others.

Most of the Israeli fire was directed southwards, while Abu Akleh and a Reuters photographer who was wounded were positioned to the north of the Israeli forces. Nevertheless, it appears that some Israeli fire was directed northwards as well, the proble claimed.

The paper said that officials believe that a ballistics examination of the Israeli troops' weapons could either confirm or refute the claim that the bullet that hit Abu Akleh was fired by an Israeli soldier.

UN demands probe into killing of Al Jazeera journalist in West Bank

AFP , Wednesday 11 May 2022

The UN human rights office on Wednesday said it was "appalled" at the killing of a veteran Al Jazeera reporter in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday and demanded a transparent investigation.



Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks to the media about the Tigray region of Ethiopia during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 3, 2021. AP


Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was shot dead as she covered an Israeli army raid.

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet's office said it was on the ground and trying to verify the facts.

"We are appalled at the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin, Palestine," UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet's office said on Twitter.

"Our office is on the ground verifying the facts.

"We urge an independent, transparent investigation into her killing. Impunity must end."

The Qatar-based TV channel Al Jazeera charged that Israeli forces deliberately and "in cold blood" shot Abu Akleh in the head during the unrest in the Jenin refugee camp earlier on Wednesday.

While Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said it was "likely" that "armed Palestinians, who were indiscriminately firing at the time, were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist".


EU condemns killing of Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in West Bank

Ahram Online , Wednesday 11 May 2022

The European Union has condemned the killing of Palestinian-American Al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank on Wednesday.


Palestinians carry the flag-draped body of veteran Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as it is carried toward the offices of the news channel in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on May 11, 2022. - Al-Jazeera said Abu Akleh, 51, a prominent figure in the channel s Arabic news service was shot dead by Israeli troops early Wednesday as she was covering a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Abu Akleh was killed by what Al-Jazeera says was Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank. Another journalist, Ali Al-Samoud, was wounded in the incident.

"Our condolences go to her family, friends, and colleagues," EU spokesperson said in a statement.

"It is essential that a thorough, independent investigation clarifies all the circumstances of these incidents as soon as possible and that those responsible are brought to justice. It is unacceptable to target journalists while they perform their job. Journalists covering conflict situations must be ensured safety and protection at all times."

The EU spokesperson affirmed that the European Union stands in solidarity with journalists and will continue to support their fundamental work, in particular while covering conflicts.

Marcel Khalife, Fairuz, Assala mourn killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Ahram Online , Wednesday 11 May 2022

Shortly following news of the death of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by alleged Israeli gunfire in the West Bank, Arab artists took to social media to express their sorrow and condemn the killing.


Palestinians hold posters displaying veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, who was, according to the network, shot dead by Israeli troops as she covered a raid on the West Bank s Jenin refugee camp on May 11, 2022. AFP


Among the first to mourn Abu Akleh was Lebanese composer and oud player, as well as strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, Marcel Khalife.

“Shireen Abu Akleh will continue living with us through her message of tenderness and love, under the blazing sky,” Khalife wrote on his Twitter account.

Iconic Lebanese singer Fairuz posted a photo of Abu Akleh, adding a quote from lyrics to one of her songs: “We cannot stop the humiliation, killing, fear and displacement.” The song is based on John Lennon’s Imagine, which calls for peace.

“The wounded girl of Palestine,” Syrian singer Assala wrote on Twitter, adding that “she believed in her homeland and her work, and paid with her life for the truth.”

Independent musicians also offered their condolences. El Far3i, a Palestinian and Jordanian songwriter and rapper, wrote on Twitter, “she covered the news of the land and the martyrs until she was martyred herself.”

Photos of the journalist were also shared by dozens of Arab artists, including Palestinian-Egyptian poet Tamim Al-Barghouti.

Abu Akleh was killed, seemingly by Israeli soldiers, in the northern West Bank city of Jenin earlier today.

Al-Jazeera and a reporter who was wounded in the incident have blamed Israeli forces for the killing. Israeli authorities say they are still investigating.

Abu Akleh, 51, was born in Jerusalem. She began working for Al-Jazeera in 1997 and regularly reported on-camera from across the Palestinian territories. In video footage of the incident, she can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word “PRESS.”

Abu Akleh’s producer Ali Samoudi, who was wounded in the incident, told The Associated Press they were among a group of seven reporters who were covering the raid early on Wednesday.

Israeli minister pledges full probe into killing of Al Jazeera reporter in West Bank

AP , Wednesday 11 May 2022

Israel's defense minister promised a thorough investigation of the killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh on Wednesday and asked that Palestinian officials hand over the bullet that killed her.

Benny Gantz. AP

Benny Gantz told reporters that Israel has been in touch with US and Palestinian officials, and said all parts of the investigation would be made public.

The Israeli army initially suggested that Abu Akleh might have been killed by stray fire from Palestinian militants. The military chief, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, later stepped back from that assertion, saying it was unclear who had fired the deadly bullet.

But Gantz was more cautious Wednesday evening. ``We are trying to figure out exactly what happened....I don't have final conclusions.''

``I am very sorry for what happened,'' Gantz told reporters.

``Currently, we do not know what was the direct cause of Shireen's death. We are very decisive to have a full-scale investigation of this process, and we hope to get Palestinian cooperation on this issue. Without the report of the pathological findings and the forensic findings, it would be very hard for us to find out what happened on the ground.''

``We investigated all the troops that were part of the operation,`` he added. ``So far, we don't have any final conclusion.''

Abu Akleh's death could draw new scrutiny to Israel's military justice system, which is being examined as part of a war crimes probe conducted by the International Criminal Court. It also threatened to further strain often rocky relations between the army and the international media.

Slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was icon of Palestinian coverage

AP , Wednesday 11 May 2022


A veteran Al Jazeera correspondent who was shot dead on Wednesday during an Israeli raid in the West Bank was a highly respected journalist in the Middle East whose unflinching coverage was known to millions of viewers.


Women watch an Al Jazeera obituary report on TV at the family home of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem on Wednesday, after she was killed as she covered an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. AFP

News of Shireen Abu Akleh's death reverberated across the region. The 51-year-old journalist became a household name synonymous with Al Jazeera's coverage of life under occupation during her more than two decades reporting in the Palestinian territories, including during the second intifada, or uprising, that killed thousands of Palestinians.

Abu Akleh's name trended across Twitter in Arabic on Wednesday, setting social media alight with support for the Palestinians.

Her image was projected over the main square in the West Bank city of Ramallah as mourners flooded the Al Jazeera offices there and her family home in east Jerusalem.

Abu Akleh's coverage of the harsh realities of Israel's military occupation was inextricably linked with her own experiences as a Palestinian journalist on the front lines.

Her death underscores the heavy price the conflict continues to exact on Palestinians, regardless of their role as journalists.

Although she was also a US citizen who often visited America in the summers, she lived and worked in her homeland Palestine in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Abu Akleh, a Palestinian Christian whose family was originally from Bethlehem, was born and raised in Jerusalem. She leaves behind a brother and her parents.

In an Al Jazeera video released last year, Abu Akleh recalled the scale of destruction and "the feeling that death was at times just around the corner'' during her coverage of the second intifada, from 2000-to 2005.

"Despite the dangers, we were determined to do the job," she said.

"I chose journalism so I could be close to the people,'' she added.

"It might not be easy to change the reality, but at least I was able to communicate their voice to the world.''

Abu Akleh joined Al Jazeera in 1997, just a year after the groundbreaking Arabic news network launched.

Among her many assignments were covering five wars in Gaza and Israel's war with Lebanon in 2006. She reported on forced home evictions, the killings of Palestinian youth, the hundreds of Palestinians held without charge in Israeli prisons, and the continuous expansion of Jewish settlements.

Her longtime producer, Wessam Hammad, said Abu Akleh possessed an incredible ability to remain calm under pressure.

"Shireen worked all these years with a commitment to the values and ethics of our profession,'' he said of Abu Akleh, who the network called "the face of Al Jazeera in Palestine.''

He and Abu Akleh were often caught in Israeli cross-fire during the many stories they covered together, he said. On one assignment, their car was filled with tear gas and they struggled to breathe, When they would think back on these moments, he said Abu Akleh would laugh and marvel at how they managed to survive.

Images of the moments after Abu Akleh was shot in the head in the West Bank town of Jenin circulated online and were broadcast on Al Jazeera and other Arabic news channels.

Wearing a helmet and a vest clearly marked "PRESS," Abu Akleh's body was shown lying face down in a patch of sand. A Palestinian man jumped over a wall to reach her as gunshots rang out, dragging her motionless body to a car.

In a video from the West Bank hospital where Abu Akleh was pronounced dead, a male colleague was seen weeping at her hospital bed as others choked back tears.

A female correspondent for Al Jazeera in the Gaza Strip wept on air as she reported from a vigil for the journalist.

Later Wednesday, Abu Akleh's body, draped in a Palestinian flag and covered by a wreath of flowers, was carried through downtown Ramallah on a red stretcher. Hundreds chanted, "With our spirit, with our blood, we will redeem you, Shireen.''

An outpouring of condemnation came from governments around the world. The US State Department called her death "an affront to media freedom.''

Al Jazeera and witnesses, including her producer who was shot in the back Wednesday, said Israeli forces killed her.

Israel said it was unclear who was responsible, calling it "premature and irresponsible to cast blame at this stage.''

It had started as another routine assignment for Abu Akleh. She'd emailed colleagues that she was heading to the Jenin refugee camp to check on reports of an Israeli military raid.

"I will bring you the news as soon as the picture becomes clear,'' she wrote.

"Generations grew up seeing her work,'' producer Hammad, said.

"People listened to Shireen's voice and were influenced by her to study journalism so they could be like her.''

Abu Akleh's niece, Lina Abu Akleh, described her as a "best friend'' and "second mom''.

"She is someone that I was looking up to since I was a kid, watching all of her reports," she told journalists from the family's home. "I never thought this day would come where the news would be about her."