Israel Defense Forces kill an American Journalist

SuperMatt

Site Master
Posts
7,862
Reaction score
15,004
Shireen Abu Akleh, an American citizen and journalist for Al-Jazeera is dead at 51.


Israeli officials originally claimed it was Palestinian fire, then backed away from that. Multiple witnesses on the scene said there was no fighting nearby at the time and she was taken out by a single shot. She has been highly critical of Israel in the past. Al-Jazeera claims it is a targeted killing.

From this WaPo article:

(paywall removed)

Samudi, who works for the Jerusalem-based al-Quds newspaper, said Wednesday that he and Abu Akleh had been standing several hundred meters from a house where Israeli soldiers were carrying out an arrest. His shoulder was wrapped in a bandage, and dark blood stains were visible on a bullet-resistent vest marked “PRESS” on the table beside him. He had been working with Abu Akleh on Wednesday as a producer, he said.

“The house was at the top of the camp; we were far below,” he said, referring to the Jenin refugee camp. They were alone with four or five other Palestinian journalists, all wearing protective gear marking them as such. They had not yet set up to film, he said.

They were near Israeli military vehicles, he said, and they moved slowly to make sure the soldiers could identify them as reporters. There were no other Palestinian civilians or fighters in the area that he could see, he said.
Suddenly, a single shot rang out, Samudi said, close enough for him to hear the whiz of a bullet. He said he turned and ran and was immediately hit in the upper left back. He said he knew he had been hit, but he also remembers his colleague’s reaction.

“I heard Shireen scream, ‘Ali has been shot! Ali has been shot!’ ” he said. “Then they shot Shireen. She dropped dead immediately.” He was adamant that the group was not caught in a crossfire between soldiers and militants, as the Israeli government has suggested.

“There were no fighters where we were, none at all,” he said. “We don’t put ourselves in the line of fire. Whatever the Israeli army says for us to do, we do. They shot at us directly and deliberately.”
Another journalist, Shatha Hanaysha, 29, said the group stood in an open area “for about 10 minutes to make sure the Israeli army can identify us as journalists.”

Not long ago, Israeli forces bombed the building housing the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera in Palestine, falsely claiming it was a terrorist command center.
 

DT

I am so Smart! S-M-R-T!
Posts
6,405
Reaction score
10,455
Location
Moe's
Main Camera
iPhone
I just read about this. JFC, the other reporter, Samudi, at the incident (who was also shot) made the situation pretty clear.

Thanks for the de-paywalling.
 

SuperMatt

Site Master
Posts
7,862
Reaction score
15,004
You think American police get away with a lot? Imagine if they beat up the pallbearers at George Floyd’s funeral while they were still carrying the casket.


Gee, I wonder why the Palestinian authorities are rejecting Israel’s call for a joint investigation of who shot Ms. Abu Akleh…

The impunity is absolutely disgusting.

Oh, and the crime the Palestinians supposedly committed to deserve such treatment? Waving the Palestinian flag.
 
Last edited:

AG_PhamD

Elite Member
Posts
1,028
Reaction score
969
A very tragic loss for Al Jazeera and the Arab world being one of the most prominent Arab reporters.

There definitely needs to be an *independent* investigation into the Abu Akleh’s death. Both the Israelis and Palestinians clearly have a bias and motive to create a favorable narrative. Palestine uses every opportunity to claim Israel goes out of their way to kill civilians. Israel obviously does not want to appear responsible for killing a journalist.

if this was a targeted hit, those responsible obviously need to be held to account. But I think it’s entirely possible this was a accident as well. Being in the vicinity of a military raid resulting in a firefight is not exactly a safe place to be.

Sadly, I expect we will never see an independent investigation. It’s not necessarily in either party’s interest.

Not long ago, Israeli forces bombed the building housing the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera in Palestine, falsely claiming it was a terrorist command center.

Reportedly Israel provided evidence to the US Government that the building housed a Hamas unit involved with electronic warfare, specifically jamming of the Iron Dome system. Whether that’s true or not, I suppose we will never know.

It should be said Israel sent a text notification to the area warning the building would be targeted. They also performed a “roof knock” (dropping a projectile on the roof to warn people to leave). No one was injured or died in the attack. I’m not so sure destroying the AP’s Palestine office would put so much as a hiccup in their reporting. Israel also promised to rebuild the building.

That said, destroying the AP building, even if for legitimate reasons, is a terrible decision in terms of PR. Same with the riot police at this funeral attacking the pallbearers and mourners I’m guessing it has to do with the display of the Palestinian flag, which is a absurd policy to begin with IMO.

It’s stupid decisions like these that draw so much bad attention to Israel and leads people to think Israel is just as bad if not worse than Hamas. Don’t get me wrong, Israel has done some terrible things, but they are not even close to comparable.
 

JayMysteri0

What the F?!!!
Posts
6,612
Reaction score
13,752
Location
Not HERE.
I don't think it really matters what anyone thinks about Israel when it comes to the scene of that happened with the journalist's casket.



I've seen the scene a few times and it doesn't matter what the story is. Pallbearers were attacked. Stop. Period. There is NO "both sides".

Why the fuck are you striking pallbearers? 😤

Another viewpoint
 

SuperMatt

Site Master
Posts
7,862
Reaction score
15,004
A very tragic loss for Al Jazeera and the Arab world being one of the most prominent Arab reporters.

There definitely needs to be an *independent* investigation into the Abu Akleh’s death. Both the Israelis and Palestinians clearly have a bias and motive to create a favorable narrative. Palestine uses every opportunity to claim Israel goes out of their way to kill civilians. Israel obviously does not want to appear responsible for killing a journalist.

if this was a targeted hit, those responsible obviously need to be held to account. But I think it’s entirely possible this was a accident as well. Being in the vicinity of a military raid resulting in a firefight is not exactly a safe place to be.

Sadly, I expect we will never see an independent investigation. It’s not necessarily in either party’s interest.



Reportedly Israel provided evidence to the US Government that the building housed a Hamas unit involved with electronic warfare, specifically jamming of the Iron Dome system. Whether that’s true or not, I suppose we will never know.

It should be said Israel sent a text notification to the area warning the building would be targeted. They also performed a “roof knock” (dropping a projectile on the roof to warn people to leave). No one was injured or died in the attack. I’m not so sure destroying the AP’s Palestine office would put so much as a hiccup in their reporting. Israel also promised to rebuild the building.

That said, destroying the AP building, even if for legitimate reasons, is a terrible decision in terms of PR. Same with the riot police at this funeral attacking the pallbearers and mourners I’m guessing it has to do with the display of the Palestinian flag, which is a absurd policy to begin with IMO.

It’s stupid decisions like these that draw so much bad attention to Israel and leads people to think Israel is just as bad if not worse than Hamas. Don’t get me wrong, Israel has done some terrible things, but they are not even close to comparable.
Oh it’s just “bad PR”? I wonder how you’d feel if the destroyed building was your home or if the casket held your family member. Israeli leaders knew EXACTLY what they were doing. It’s how you oppress a population and let them know they are under your thumb. Don’t even let them have a funeral without attacking them physically.

Why would Palestinians, after being physically attacked during the funeral, trust Israelis to investigate the death? Especially when they already changed their story on what happened? Under Biden, perhaps an American investigation could be impartial. But after 4 years of Trump, I wonder if Palestinians would trust it or not. I’m sorry, but I don’t think the investigation is a ”both sides” issue anymore. Israeli leaders tipped their hand when they attacked the pallbearers.

It’s time to stop hand-waving away the Israeli government’s unacceptable actions because Hamas is supposedly worse. Their leaders have shown no steps towards peace in a long time, and to reinforce that, they are planning to build even more settlements in occupied territory. I had hope when Netanyahu was voted out, but Bennett seems like he is using the same playbook. Israel needs better leadership if they ever want to see peace.
 

SuperMatt

Site Master
Posts
7,862
Reaction score
15,004
More evidence has come to light. This appears to have been a targeted killing of an American citizen by the Israeli military.


I hope people can see why Palestinian officials didn’t want a joint investigation with Israel.

Will America impose any consequences on Israel for this?
 
Top Bottom
1 2