JSC Condemns the Assassination of Al-Jazeera Correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, & Demands Prompt and Transparent Investigations as Eyewitnesses Confirmed Deliberate Israeli Shooting, despite Wearing Press Jacket

The Journalists Support Committee (JSC) condemns the assassination of journalist Shereen Abu Aqleh (correspondent for Al-Jazeera channel) this morning, Wednesday, in the city of Jenin, by targeting her by the Israeli occupation forces during her coverage of the occupation’s incursions into the Jenin refugee camp. It is noted that Abu Akleh was wearing the Press jacket, and eyewitnesses testified that the targeting was deliberate.

Today’s Israeli targeting of journalists raises the number of victims of the press family to 48 as of the year 2000. Moreover, more than 66 journalists were injured by live bullets, rubber and poison gas canisters, in an attempt to assassinate the truth, since the beginning of the year 2022.

JSC, in its condolences to the Al Jazeera media family and the Palestinian and Arab press family, reiterating the condemnation of the attacks on journalists and media outlets, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, which classifies them as civilian assets and criminalizes attacks on them and the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international conventions, demands international and human rights organizations, especially UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists, to take immediate and urgent actions to pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to stop their violations of the rights of journalists and media professionals in Palestine and to secure the necessary protection for journalists and media headquarters, as those attacks aim to impose a media blackout and deprive individuals of the right to access information from its sources and follow up on events.

In parallel, the Committee also calls on the concerned authorities, especially the International Criminal Court and UNESCO, to conduct prompt and transparent investigations into crimes and attacks committed against journalists, in accordance with the principle of ending impunity for crimes committed against journalists.