‘They were shooting directly at the journalists’: New evidence suggests Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in targeted attack by Israeli forces.
By Zeena Saifi, Eliza Mackintosh, Celine Alkhaldi, Kareem Khadder, Katie Polglase, and Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN
Several shots ring out in quick succession, cutting through a clear, blue spring morning in Jenin, in the West Bank. Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack.
The cameraman filming the scene scrambles backwards to take cover behind a low concrete wall. Then a man cries out in Arabic: “Injured! Shireen, Shireen, oh man, Shireen! Ambulance!”
When the camera operator pans around the corner, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh can be seen lying motionless, face down on the ground as another Palestinian reporter, Shatha Hanaysha, crouches down beside her, using a tree trunk for cover. Hanaysha reaches out and tries to rouse her as gunshots continue. There’s no response. Both women are wearing helmets and blue protective vests marked “Press.”
In the moments that follow, a man in a white T-shirt makes several attempts to move Abu Akleh, but is forced back repeatedly by gunfire. Finally, after a few long minutes, he manages to drag her body from the street.
The shaky video, filmed by Al Jazeera cameraman Majdi Banura, captures the scene when Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American was killed by a bullet to the head at around 6:30 a.m. on May 11. She had been standing with a group of journalists near the entrance of Jenin refugee camp, where they had come to cover an Israeli raid. While the footage does not show Abu Akleh being shot, eyewitnesses told CNN that they believe Israeli forces on the same street fired deliberately on the reporters in a targeted attack. All of the journalists were wearing protective blue vests that identified them as members of the news media.
Recent Posts
The Blue Road to Trump Hell, A Zero Hour Conversation With Norman Solomon
Take Action Now The road to Trump was paved with Democratic Party elites.By RJ Eskow and Norman Solomon, The Zero Hour In this conversation Norman…
Democrats In Congress Are Out Of Touch With Constituents On Israeli Genocide
Take Action Now A national Quinnipiac Poll found that 77 percent of Democrats “think Israel is committing genocide.”By Norman Solomon Last month,…
William Hartung On The Trillion Dollar War Machine
Take Action Now As both parties are legislating criticism of socialism, Americans’ support for Medicare For All has intensified to the point where…
Huge Costs to Workers And The Environment: Tech Bubbles And New Investments In The U.S.
Take Action Now In our new book Capitalist Value Chains, Christin Bernhold and I argue that global supply chains have made labour exploitation and…