https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle...era-journalist-s-funeral-20220514-p5albf.html ‘Deeply disturbed’: Israeli police beat pallbearers at Al Jazeera journalist’s funeral By Josef Federman May 14, 2022 Jerusalem: Israeli riot police on Friday pushed and beat pallbearers at the funeral for slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, causing them to briefly drop the casket in a shocking start to a procession that turned into perhaps the largest display of Palestinian nationalism in Jerusalem in a generation. The scenes of violence were likely to add to the sense of grief and outrage across the Arab world that has followed the death of Abu Akleh, who witnesses say was killed by Israeli troops Wednesday during a raid in the occupied West Bank. Israeli police beat mourners as they carry the casket of slain Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in east Jerusalem.Credit:AP They also illustrated the deep sensitivities over east Jerusalem -- which is claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians and has sparked repeated rounds of violence. Abu Akleh, 51, was a household name across the Arab world, synonymous with Al Jazeera’s coverage of life under Israeli rule, which is well into its sixth decade with no end in sight. A 25-year veteran of the satellite channel, she was revered by Palestinians as a local hero. Abu Akleh was a member of the small Palestinian Christian community in the Holy Land. Palestinian Christians and Muslims marched alongside one another Friday in a show of unity. She was shot in the head during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin. But the circumstances of the shooting remain in dispute. The Palestinians say army fire killed her, while the Israeli military said Friday that she was killed during an exchange with fire with Palestinian militants. It said it could not determine who was responsible for her death without a ballistic analysis. “The conclusion of the interim investigation is that it is not possible to determine the source of the fire that hit and killed the reporter,” the military said. Thousands of people, many waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Palestine! Palestine!” attended the funeral. It was believed to be the largest Palestinian funeral in Jerusalem since Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian leader and scion of a prominent family, died in 2001. Ahead of the burial, a large crowd gathered to escort her casket from an east Jerusalem hospital to a Catholic church in the nearby Old City. Many of the mourners held Palestinian flags, and the crowd began shouting, “We sacrifice our soul and blood for you, Shireen.” Shortly after, Israel police moved in, pushing and clubbing mourners. As the helmeted riot police approached, they hit pallbearers, causing one man to lose control of the casket as it dropped toward the ground. Police ripped Palestinian flags out of people’s hands and fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd. Family and relatives attend the funeral of Al Jaseera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in Jerusalem, Israel. Credit:Getty Abu Akleh’s brother, Tony, said the scenes “prove that Shireen’s reports and honest words ... had a powerful impact.” Al Jazeera correspondent Givara Budeiri said the police crackdown was like killing Abu Akleh again. “It seems her voice isn’t silent,” she said during a report. East Jerusalem, home to the city’s most important Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, was captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. It claims all of the city as its eternal capital and has annexed the eastern sector in a move that is not internationally recognised. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state. Israel routinely clamps down on any displays of support for Palestinian statehood. The conflicting claims to east Jerusalem often spill over into violence, helping fuel an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza militants last year and more recently sparking weeks of unrest at the city’s most sensitive holy site. Outside of prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque, Israel rarely allows large Palestinian gatherings in east Jerusalem and routinely clamps down on any displays of support for Palestinian statehood. Police said the crowd at the hospital was chanting “nationalist incitement,” ignored calls to stop and threw stones at them. “The policemen were forced to act,” police said. They issued a video in which a commander outside the hospital warns the crowd that police will come in if they don’t stop their incitement and “nationalist songs.” Shortly before midnight, the Israeli police issued a second statement claiming that they had coordinated plans with the family for the casket to be placed in a vehicle, but that a “mob threatened the driver of the hearse and then proceeded to carry the coffin on an unplanned procession.” It said police intervened “so that the funeral could proceed as planned in accordance with the wishes of the family.” The police claims could not be immediately verified. But earlier this week, Abu Akleh’s brother had said the original plans were to move the casket in a hearse from the hospital to the church, and that after the service, it would be carried through the streets to the cemetery. In this undated photo provided by al-Jazeera, Shireen Abu Akleh stands next to a TV camera in Jerusalem.Credit:AP Al Jazeera said in a statement that the police action “violates all international norms and rights.” “Israeli occupation forces attacked those mourning the late Shireen Abu Akhleh after storming the French hospital in Jerusalem, where they severely beat the pallbearers,” it said. The network added that it remains committed to covering the news and will not be deterred. White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the images “deeply disturbing.” The focus should be “marking the memory of a remarkable journalist who lost her life,” Psaki said. “We regret the intrusion into what should have been a peaceful procession.” During a Rose Garden event, US President Joe Biden was asked whether he condemns the Israeli police actions at the funeral, and he replied: “I don’t know all the details, but I know it has to be investigated.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “was deeply disturbed by the confrontations between Israeli security forces and Palestinians gathered at St. Joseph Hospital, and the behaviour of some police present at the scene,” according to a statement from his deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq. Israeli police later escorted the casket in a black van, ripping Palestinian flags off the vehicle as it made its way to the church. “We die for Palestine to live!” crowds chanted. “Our beloved home!” Later, they sang the Palestinian national anthem and chanted “Palestine, Palestine!” before her body was buried in a cemetery outside the Old City. Her grave was decorated with a Palestinian flag and flowers. The Palestinian ambassador to the U.K., Husam Zomlot, and Al Jazeera’s bureau chief, Walid Al-Omari, placed flowers on the grave. Israel has called for a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority and for it to hand over the bullet for forensic analysis to determine who fired the fatal round. The PA has refused, saying it will conduct its own investigation and send the results to the International Criminal Court, which is already investigating possible Israeli war crimes. Reporters who were with Abu Akleh, including one who was shot and wounded, said there were no clashes or militants in the immediate area. All of them were wearing protective equipment that clearly identified them as reporters. The PA and Al Jazeera, which has long had a strained relationship with Israel, have accused Israel of deliberately killing Abu Akleh. Israel denies the accusations. Rights groups say Israel rarely follows through on investigations into the killing of Palestinians by its security forces and hands down lenient punishments on the rare occasions when it does. This case, however, drew heavy scrutiny because Abu Akleh was well-known and also a US citizen. Palestinians from in and around Jenin have carried out deadly attacks in Israel in recent weeks, and Israel has launched near daily arrest raids in the area, often igniting gunbattles with militants. Israeli troops pushed into Jenin again early Friday, sparking renewed fighting. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 13 Palestinians were wounded. The Israeli military said that Palestinians opened fire when its forces went in to arrest suspected militants. Police said a 47-year-old member of a special Israeli commando unit was killed. AP
Videos: https://nyti.ms/3MdrKxd https://vp.nyt.com/video/hls/2022/05/12/100395_1_12vid-Al-Akleh-Funeral_wg/master.m3u8
US Secretary of State says he was deeply troubled by scenes of Israeli police attacking funeral of Abu Akleh http://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/129211 Israeli occupation police assaulting the funeral procession of Shireen Abu Akleh as it was leaving St. Joseph's hospital in occupied East Jerusalem. (WAFA Images) WASHINGTON, Saturday, May 14, 2022 (WAFA) – Unites States Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday said in a tweet that he was deeply troubled by scenes of Israeli occupation police assaulting mourners at the funeral of slain Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh as it was leaving St. Joseph's hospital in occupied East Jerusalem that almost forced them to drop her coffin. “We were deeply troubled by the images of Israeli police intruding into the funeral procession of Palestinian American Shireen Abu Akleh. Every family deserves to lay their loved ones to rest in a dignified and unimpeded manner,” said Blinken. Abu Akleh, the most popular Palestinian journalist working with Al-Jazeera, was killed by an Israeli army sniper on Wednesday, despite exhibiting very visible “press” signs, while covering an Israeli army raid on Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank. Her killing and the attack on her funeral yesterday in Jerusalem have drawn worldwide condemnation. Abu Akleh was laid to rest yesterday at the Greek Catholic cemetery at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem in a funeral attended by tens of thousands of people. ................................... VIDEO
Israeli actions at journalist’s funeral ‘disgraceful’, says Coveney Israeli police baton charged mourners at the funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh about an hour ago Ronan McGreevy https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ire...-s-funeral-disgraceful-says-coveney-1.4878698 Israeli police confront with mourners as they carry the casket of slain Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in east Jerusalem, Friday, May 13th. Photograph: AP Photo/Maya Levin Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has condemned Israeli actions at the funeral of murdered journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and said they should be “roundly condemned” by the international community. Video and photographic evidence from her funeral show Israeli police storming the coffin while beating and baton charging mourners. In a tweet aimed at the Israel government, Mr Coveney stated: “These are disgraceful scenes of police brutality at a hugely sensitive funeral. No self-respecting democracy could stand over this treatment of people.” He also backed calls for an independent investigation into the death of Ms Abu Akleh. The journalist, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American, was a household name across much of the Arabic-speaking world. She was hit by a bullet to the head even though she was wearing a flak jacket bearing the word PRESS and a helmet. The Qatari-based network blamed Israel. Palestinian authorities have described Ms Abu Akleh’s killing as an assassination by Israeli forces. Israel says she may have been hit by bullets fired by Palestinian gunmen. The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign has organised a vigil at 1.30pm today at the top of Grafton Street near St Stephen’s Green to honour the memory of Ms Abu Akleh and call for her killers to be held to account. The National Union of Journalists will also be present to protest at her death. The behaviour of Israeli police at the funeral has been condemned worldwide. The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted: “We were deeply troubled by the images of Israeli police intruding into the funeral procession of Palestinian American Shireen Abu Akleh. “Every family deserves to lay their loved ones to rest in a dignified and unimpeded manner.” The EU’s high representative Joseph Borrell said the EU is “appalled” by the scenes which unfolded during the funeral which took place in occupied East Jerusalem. “The EU condemns the disproportionate use of force and the disrespectful behaviour by the Israeli police against the participants of the mourning procession,” he said. “Allowing for a peaceful farewell and letting mourners grieve in peace without harassment and humiliation, is the minimal human respect . “The EU reiterates its call for a thorough and independent investigation that clarifies all the circumstances of Shireen Abu Akleh’s death that brings those responsible for her killing to justice.” Condemned Separately Ireland, along with France, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden has condemned Israel’s decision to advance plans for the construction of more than 4,000 homes in the occupied West Bank. “The new housing units would constitute an additional obstacle to the two-State Solution. Israeli settlements are in clear violation of international law and stand in the way of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” the joint statement said. “This decision, as well as demolitions and evictions affecting the Palestinian populations in East-Jerusalem and Area C, directly threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state.”
https://mondoweiss.net/2022/05/israeli-police-attack-another-palestinian-funeral-in-jerusalem/ Israeli police attack another Palestinian funeral in Jerusalem Israeli police attacked the funeral of slain Palestinian Walid al-Sharif in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday night, injuring dozens of funeral goers. Al-Sharif, 23, was shot in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet by Israeli forces on April 22 during an Israeli assault on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. By Yumna Patel May 17, 2022 Palestinian mourners carry the body of Walid al-Sharif, 23, who died of wounds suffered last month during clashes with Israeli police at Jerusalem’s flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound, on May 16, 2022 in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque at the al-Aqsa compound. (Photo by WAFA via APA Images) Israeli police attacked the funeral of slain Palestinian Walid al-Sharif in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday night, injuring dozens of funeral goers. Al-Sharif, 23, was shot in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet by Israeli forces on April 22 during an Israeli assault on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the holy month of Ramadan that left dozens of people injured. Video footage of the assault on the 22nd showed Israeli forces storming the compound and firing towards the crowds. After a shot in his direction, al-Sharif can be seen falling to the ground and lying there motionless, before Israeli forces dragged him away. Despite the video footage and testimony from witnesses and al-Sharif’s family, Israeli police denied shooting him, claiming that he died from injuries he sustained after falling to the ground. eyewitness and Al Jazeera reported that Israeli hospital officials “declined to give a precise cause of death.” Al-Sharif had been in critical condition in hospital for the past three weeks, until he succumbed to his wounds on May 14th. Israeli forces detained his body before releasing him to his family for burial on Monday. According to local media reports, thousands of Palestinians gathered at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound where al-Sharif’s body was brought by his family to perform the funeral prayer. Following the prayer, thousands of funeral goers carried his body from the mosque to a cemetery outside the Old City. Video footage shared on social media showed heavily armed Israeli police forces attacking the funeral procession as it moved from the Al-Aqsa compound to the cemetery. According to Al Jazeera reporter Wajd Waqfi, Israeli police attacked mourners and prevented them from carrying Palestinian flags, and arrested dozens of Palestinians. The Israeli police reported 20 arrests. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 71 Palestinians were wounded from rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and beatings. At least 13 people required hospitalization. At least one of the injured was reported to be in serious condition after being shot in the eye with a rubber-coated steel bullet. The injured man was reported to be Nader al-Sharif, a relative of the deceased. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan said that al-Sharif was in critical condition and was being treated at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. The center added that Israeli forces had stormed his hospital room and were forcing his family members out. The Israeli police’s attack on the funeral procession sparked confrontations in East Jerusalem that lasted into the night, as Palestinians threw stones and launched fireworks towards Israeli forces. The Israeli police reported that six officers were hurt, and released a statement saying that its forces “acted resolutely against hundreds of lawbreakers and violent rioters who … took violent actions against the forces endangering their lives”. Both Palestinian and Jordanian leaders condemned the attack on the funeral, which came just days after Israeli police attacked the funeral of slain Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in East Jerusalem. The attack on Abu Akleh’s funeral, which was widely televised, prompted outrage across the globe, as videos of Israeli police attacking pallbearers were circulated on social media. Israeli police claimed that they were attacked with stones, though their claims were refuted by video footage and eyewitness accounts. New video footage released by the St Joseph hospital in Jerusalem, where Abu Akleh’s funeral procession set off from, showed dozens of heavily-armed police storming the hospital, including the Emergency unit, during the funeral, assaulting medical staff, patients and mourners. Other security camera footage showed police firing a smoke grenade in the direction of the hospital before breaking inside. The hospital said that it has contacted a law firm to” examine the possibility of initiating a complaint against the Israeli occupation authorities over police violence,” Wafa news reported.
'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 Video by Livvy Doherty and Oscar Featherstone, CNN May 24, 2022 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/24/...nin-killing-investigation-cmd-intl/index.html This story contains a disturbing image. (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. "We stood in front of the Israeli military vehicles for about five to ten minutes before we made moves to ensure they saw us. And this is a habit of ours as journalists, we move as a group and we stand in front of them so they know we are journalists, and then we start moving," Hanaysha told CNN, describing their cautious approach toward the Israeli army convoy, before the gunfire began. When Abu Akleh was shot, Hanaysha said she was in shock. She couldn't understand what was happening. After Abu Akleh dropped to the ground, Hanaysha thought she might have stumbled. But when she looked down at the reporter she had idolized since childhood, it was clear she wasn't breathing. Blood was pooling under her head. "As soon as she [Shireen] fell, I honestly wasn't comprehending that she [was shot] ... I was hearing the sound of bullets, but I wasn't comprehending that they were coming at us. Honestly, the whole time I wasn't understanding," she said. "I thought they were shooting so we stayed back, I didn't think they were trying to kill us." On the day of the shooting, Israeli military spokesperson Ran Kochav told Army Radio that Abu Akleh had been "filming and working for a media outlet amidst armed Palestinians. They're armed with cameras, if you'll permit me to say so," according to The Times of Israel. The Israeli military says it is not clear who fired the fatal shot. In a preliminary inquiry, the army said there was a possibility Abu Akleh was hit either by indiscriminate Palestinian gunfire, or by an Israeli sniper positioned about 200 meters (about 656 feet) away in an exchange of fire with Palestinian gunmen — though neither Israel nor anyone else has provided evidence showing armed Palestinians within a clear line of fire from Abu Akleh. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on May 19 that it had not yet decided whether to pursue a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh's death. On Monday, the Israeli military's top lawyer, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, said in a speech that under the military's policy, a criminal investigation is not automatically launched if a person is killed in the "midst of an active combat zone," unless there is credible and immediate suspicion of a criminal offense. United States lawmakers, the United Nations and the international community have all called for an independent probe. But an investigation by CNN offers new evidence — including two videos of the scene of the shooting — that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death. Videos obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight eyewitnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapons expert, suggest that Abu Akleh was shot dead in a targeted attack by Israeli forces. View attachment 285411 Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The footage shows a calm scene before the reporters came under fire in the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp, near the main Awdeh roundabout. Hanaysha, four other journalists and three local residents said that it had been a normal morning in Jenin, home to about 345,000 people — 11,400 of whom live in the camp. Many were on their way to work or school, and the street was relatively quiet. There was a frisson of excitement as the veteran journalist, a household name across the Arab world for her coverage of Israel and the Palestinian territories, arrived to report on the raid. About a dozen or so men, some dressed in sweats and flip-flops, had gathered to watch Abu Akleh and her colleagues at work. They were milling around chatting, some smoking cigarettes, others filming the scene on their phones. In one 16-minute cellphone video shared with CNN, the man filming walks toward the spot where the journalists had gathered, zooming in on the Israeli armored vehicles parked in the distance, and says: "Look at the snipers." Then, when a teenager peers tentatively up the street, he shouts: "Don't kid around ... you think it's a joke? We don't want to die. We want to live." Israeli raids on the Jenin refugee camp have become a regular occurrence since early April, in the wake of several attacks by Palestinians that left Israelis and foreigners dead. Some of the suspected assailants of those attacks were from Jenin, according to the Israeli military. Residents say the raids often lead to injuries and deaths. On Saturday, a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed and an 18-year-old was critically injured by Israeli fire during a raid, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. Salim Awad, the 27-year-old Jenin camp resident who filmed the 16-minute video, told CNN that there were no armed Palestinians or any clashes in the area, and he hadn't expected there to be gunfire, given the presence of journalists nearby. "There was no conflict or confrontations at all. We were about 10 guys, give or take, walking around, laughing and joking with the journalists," he said. "We were not afraid of anything. We didn't expect anything would happen, because when we saw journalists around, we thought it'd be a safe area." But the situation changed rapidly. Awad said shooting broke out about seven minutes after he arrived at the scene. His video captures the moment that shots were fired at the four journalists — Abu Akleh, Hanaysha, another Palestinian journalist, Mujahid al-Saadi, and Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Samoudi, who was injured in the gunfire — as they walked toward the Israeli vehicles. In the footage, Abu Akleh can be seen turning away from the barrage. The footage shows a direct line of sight towards the Israeli convoy. View attachment 285410 Palestinian journalist Shatha Hanaysha pictured in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 12, a day after she and Abu Akleh came under fire. "We saw around four or five military vehicles on that street with rifles sticking out of them and one of them shot Shireen. We were standing right there, we saw it. When we tried to approach her, they shot at us. I tried to cross the street to help, but I couldn't," Awad said, adding that he saw that a bullet struck Abu Akleh in the gap between her helmet and protective vest, just by her ear. A 16-year-old, who was among the group of men and boys on the street, told CNN that there were "no shots fired, no stone throwing, nothing," before Abu Akleh was shot. He said that the journalists had told them not to follow as they walked toward Israeli forces, so he stayed back. When the gunfire broke out, he said he ducked behind a car on the road, three meters away, where he watched the moment she was killed. The teenager shared a video with CNN, filmed at 6:36 a.m., just after the journalists left the scene for the hospital, which showed the five Israeli army vehicles driving slowly past the spot where Abu Akleh died. The convoy then turns left before leaving the camp via the roundabout. CNN reviewed a total of 11 videos showing the scene and the Israeli military convoy from different angles — before, during and after Abu Akleh was killed. Eyewitnesses who were filming when the journalist was shot were also in the line of fire and pulled back when the gunfire started, so do not capture the moment she is hit with the bullet. The visual evidence reviewed by CNN includes a body camera video released by the Israeli military, which captures soldiers running through a narrow alleyway, holding M16 assault rifles, and variants, as they spill out onto the street where the armored vehicles are parked. An Israeli military source told CNN that both sides were firing M16 and M4 style assault rifles that day. In the videos, five Israeli vehicles can be seen lined up in a row on the same road where Abu Akleh was killed, to the south. The vehicle closest to the journalists, emblazoned with a white number one, and the vehicle furthest away, marked with the number five, are both positioned perpendicular across the street. Toward the rear of the vehicles, directly above the numbers, is a narrow rectangular opening in the exterior of the vehicle. The Israeli military referenced such an opening in a statement about its initial investigation into Abu Akleh's shooting, saying that the journalist may have been hit by an Israeli soldier shooting from a "designated firing hole in an IDF vehicle using a telescopic scope," during an exchange of fire. Several eyewitnesses told CNN that they saw sniper rifles sticking out of the openings before the shooting began, but that it was not preceded by any other gunfire. Jamal Huwail, a professor at the Arab American University in Jenin, who helped drag Abu Akleh's lifeless body from the road, said he believed the shots were coming from one of the Israeli vehicles, which he described as a "new model which had an opening for snipers," because of the elevation and direction of the bullets. "They were shooting directly at the journalists," Huwail said. Huwail, a former parliamentarian and member of the Palestinian Fatah Party in Jenin, first met Abu Akleh two decades ago, when Israel launched a major military operation in the camp, destroying more than 400 homes and displacing a quarter of its population. When he spoke with the journalist briefly that morning of May 11 at the Awdeh roundabout, she had showed him a video of one of their early interviews from 2002. The next time he saw her up close, she was dead. View attachment 285412 Shireen Abu Akleh lies face down in the street, after having been shot in the head. In videos of the dawn army raid on Jenin camp earlier in the morning, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants can be seen battling each other with M16 assault rifles and variants, according to Chris Cobb-Smith, an explosive weapons expert. That means both sides would have been shooting 5.56-millimeter bullets. To trace the bullet that killed Abu Akleh to the barrel of a specific gun would likely require a joint Israeli-Palestinian probe, since the Palestinians have the bullet that killed Abu Akleh, while CNN's investigation suggests the Israelis have the gun. None is immediately forthcoming. While Israel weighs whether to launch a criminal investigation, the Palestinian Authority has ruled out collaborating with the Israelis on any investigation. A senior Israeli security official flatly denied to CNN on May 18 that Israeli troops killed Abu Akleh intentionally. The official spoke under the condition of anonymity to discuss details about an investigation that remains formally open. "In no way would the IDF ever target a civilian, especially a member of the press," the official told CNN. "An IDF soldier would never fire an M16 on automatic. They shoot bullet by bullet," the official said, in contrast with Israel's assertion that Palestinian militants were firing "recklessly and indiscriminately" while its soldiers conducted the raid in Jenin. In a statement emailed to CNN, the IDF said it was conducting an investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh. It "calls on the Palestinian Authority to cooperate with a joint forensic examination with American representatives to conclusively determine the source of the tragic death." And added, "assertions regarding the source of the fire that killed Ms. Abu Akleh must be carefully made and backed by hard evidence. This is what the IDF is striving to achieve." Even without access to the bullet that hit Abu Akleh, there are ways to determine who killed Abu Akleh by analyzing the type of gunfire, the sound of the shots and the marks left by the bullets at the scene. Cobb-Smith, a security consultant and British army veteran, told CNN he believed Abu Akleh was killed in discrete shots — not a burst of automatic gunfire. To reach that conclusion, he looked at imagery obtained by CNN, which show markings the bullets left on the tree where Abu Akleh fell and Hanaysha was taking cover. "The number of strike marks on the tree where Shireen was standing proves this wasn't a random shot, she was targeted," Cobb-Smith told CNN, adding that, in sharp contrast, the majority of gunfire from Palestinians captured on camera that day were "random sprays." View attachment 285413 Palestinian journalist Mujahid al-Saadi, who was with Abu Akleh when she was killed, points to bullet marks on the tree in Jenin where she died. As evidence, he pointed to two videos that showed Palestinian gunmen firing haphazardly down alleyways in different parts of Jenin. The videos were circulated by the office of Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, and Israel's foreign ministry, with a voiceover in Arabic saying: "They've hit one — they've hit a soldier. He's lying on the ground." Because no Israeli soldiers were reported killed on May 11, Bennett's office said the video suggested that "Palestinian terrorists were the ones who shot the journalist." CNN geolocated the videos shared by Bennett's office to the south of the camp, more than 300 meters, or 1,000 feet, away from Abu Akleh. The coordinates of the two locations, which were verified using Mapillary, a crowdsourced street imagery platform, and footage of the area filmed by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, demonstrate that the shooting in the videos couldn't be the same volley of gunfire that hit Abu Akleh and her producer, Ali al-Samoudi. CNN was also unable to verify independently when the footage was filmed. According to the Israeli army's initial inquiry, at the time of Abu Akleh's death, an Israeli sniper was 200 meters away from her. CNN asked Robert Maher, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Montana State University, who specializes in forensic audio analysis, to assess the footage of Abu Akleh's shooting and estimate the distance between the gunman and the cameraman, taking into account the rifle being used by the Israeli forces. The video that Maher analyzed captures two volleys of gunfire; eyewitnesses say Abu Akleh was hit in the second barrage, a series of seven sharp "cracks." The first "crack" sound, the ballistic shockwave of the bullet, is followed approximately 309 milliseconds later by the relatively quiet "bang" of the muzzle blast, according to Maher. "That would correspond to a distance of something between 177 and 197 meters," or 580 and 646 feet, he said in an email to CNN, which corresponds almost exactly with the Israeli sniper's position. At 200 meters, Cobb-Smith said that there was "no chance" that random firing would result in three or four shots hitting in such a tight configuration. "From the strike marks on the tree, it appears that the shots, one of which hit Shireen, came from down the street from the direction of the IDF troops. The relatively tight grouping of the rounds indicate Shireen was intentionally targeted with aimed shots and not the victim of random or stray fire," the firearms expert told CNN. View attachment 285414 A Palestinian artist paints a mural in Gaza City honoring Shireen Abu Akleh, and depicting Shatha Hanaysha crouching beside her after she was killed. The tree is now referred to in Jenin as the "journalist tree" and has become a makeshift shrine to Abu Akleh, with photographs of the beloved reporter taped to the trunk and Palestinian kaffiyeh scarves draped from its branches. Awad, one of the Jenin residents who inadvertently captured Abu Akleh's killing on camera, said the first time he saw her in person was in 2002, when she was covering the Intifada, or uprising, in Jenin. "She is of course loved by so many, but she has a very special memory in our camp specifically because of the work she has done here. The people here are very sad for her loss," he said. Last month, Abu Akleh celebrated her birthday in Jenin, when she was there to cover an Israeli miltary raid, her longtime colleague, cameraman Majdi Banura, recalled. Banura and Abu Akleh started at Al Jazeera on the same day 25 years ago, and spent much of their careers out in the field together. Banura is still reeling from having seen Abu Akleh, whom he had filmed countless times before, die in front of his own eyes. But when the gunfire broke out, he knew he had to continue rolling, saying that it was important to have a "continuous record" of her killing. "To be honest, as I was filming, I had hoped that she will be alive, but I knew seeing her motionless she had been killed," Banura said. "Her picture doesn't leave my life and memory, everything I say or do or touch, I see her." CNN's Eliza Mackintosh in London wrote and reported. Zeena Saifi reported from Abu Dhabi, Celine Alkhaldi from Amman and Kareem Khadder from Jerusalem. Katie Polglase and Gianluca Mezzofiore reported from London. Richard Allen Greene, Abeer Salman, Hadas Gold and Atika Shubert contributed to this report. Design and visual editing by Natalie Croker and Henrik Pettersson
https://www.state.gov/idf-releases-shireen-abu-akleh-report/ Today, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that it had concluded its investigation into the circumstances surrounding Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s death, and stated there is a high possibility that Ms. Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire. We welcome Israel’s review of this tragic incident, and again underscore the importance of accountability in this case, such as policies and procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. The United States has made it a priority to mitigate and respond to civilian harm caused by military operations. The Department of Defense recently underscored the need to improve its own assessments and practices to ensure civilian harm mitigation and we will continue to share best practices with our military partners and allies around the world. Our thoughts remain with the Abu Akleh family as they grieve this tremendous loss – and with the many others worldwide who brought Shireen and her news reports into their homes for more than two decades. Not only was Shireen an American citizen, she was a fearless reporter whose journalism and pursuit of truth earned her the respect of audiences around the world.