If our tax dollars are furnishing the weapons that kill journalists and other innocents, that’s not just an international crime — it’s against U.S. law, too.
By Phyllis Bennis and Richard Falk, Foreign Policy In Focus
Shireen Abu Akleh was a seasoned al-Jazeera correspondent for the past 25 years. She was known and respected throughout the Arab world for her brave, honest reporting of the Palestinian struggle.
On May 11, she was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid on the Palestinian refugee camp outside Jenin.
Abu Akleh’s killing in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was shocking, but hardly unusual. According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, she was the 86th journalist to be killed while covering Israeli oppression since Israel first occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in 1967.
But her killing is part of a longer pattern of Israeli violence and collective punishment — not just against journalists but against all Palestinians — committed with impunity and rationalized by trumped up “security” concerns.
The depth of this abuse was again made shockingly visible after the killing itself, when Israeli police attacked the funeral procession carrying Shireen’s body to the church. They threw Palestinian flags to the ground and violently beat mourners — including the pallbearers, who nearly dropped the casket.
Recent Posts
It Looks Like Israel Wants To Start A Wider War
April 19, 2024
Take Action Now Provoking Iran is a strategy to distract from the ongoing slaughter of civilians in Gaza. by Stephen Zunes, The Progressive…
The U.S. Is Entering A New Phase Of Protest Suppression
April 19, 2024
Take Action Now Political repression is on the rise as the state finds new ways to criminalize dissent and collective action. by Adam Federman, In…
At UN Conference, Indigenous Peoples Say Little Has Changed After Promises Made A Decade Ago
April 19, 2024
Take Action Now Now, climate change is adding urgency to those pledges. By Anita Hofschneider, Grist In December, Catherine Muruparanga-Ikenn used…
Under UN Charter, Iran’s Attack Was A Legal Response To Israel’s Illegal Attack
April 19, 2024
Take Action Now Iran’s attack on Israel was lawful self-defense carried out in compliance with international humanitarian law. By Marjorie Cohn,…