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Cabinet officials

Jordanians Condemn Assassination of Al Jazeera Reporter Shireen Abu Akleh

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Al Jazeera's veteran reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday, leaving the Jordanian public and media in a state of shock and outrage. The killing has sparked widespread condemnation and protests, with Minister of State for Media Affairs Faisal Shboul calling it a "cold-blooded assassination" that constitutes a flagrant breach of International Humanitarian Law and international conventions. Abu Akleh was reporting on Israeli raids and brutality in Jenin when she was shot, despite wearing a press vest. An Al Jazeera journalist, Ali Samoudi, who was also wounded, said that there was no Palestinian military resistance at the scene.

Key Takeaways:

  • Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran Al Jazeera reporter, was assassinated in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday.
  • The killing was condemned by Minister of State for Media Affairs Faisal Shboul, who called it a "cold-blooded assassination" that constitutes a breach of International Humanitarian Law.
  • Abu Akleh was reporting on Israeli raids and brutality in Jenin when she was shot, despite wearing a press vest.
  • Ali Samoudi, an Al Jazeera journalist who was also wounded, said that there was no Palestinian military resistance at the scene.
  • The Jordanian National Commission for Women's Secretary General, Salma Nims, said that the Israeli occupation's actions are a witness to its atrocity and an attempt to silence eyewitnesses who uncover its crimes.
  • The Phenix Centre for Economic Studies' Director, Ahmad Awad, tweeted that the killing is another example of the Israeli occupation's attempts to silence those who uncover its crimes.
  • Jordanian advocate and human rights defender Hala Ahed said that the killing cannot be treated as a usual act of Israeli settlers, but rather as part of a larger atrocity that has been ongoing for 74 years.
  • Palestinian-American speaker and journalist Samar Jarrah said that the killing is a result of Western democratic countries' support for a settler colonial racist project in Palestine.
  • Jordanian TV host Rahaf Sawalha said that the killing is an assassination of the free voice of Palestine and a breach of all laws and norms.
  • Abu Akleh's usual sentence was that she would bring her news as soon as the picture becomes clear, and her message is now clear for the whole world, according to Jordanian activist Dehma Hajaya.

Statistics:

  • 74 years: the duration of the Israeli occupation in Palestine.
  • 1: the number of bullets shot at Abu Akleh, according to Ali Samoudi.
  • 2: the number of wounded journalists, including Abu Akleh and Ali Samoudi.
  • 1: the number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

Sources:

  • The Jordan Times (Amman, Jordan)
  • Twitter accounts of Salma Nims, Ahmad Awad, Hala Ahed, Samar Jarrah, and Rahaf Sawalha.
  • Al Jazeera network.
  • The Jordanian National Commission for Women.
  • The Phenix Centre for Economic Studies.

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