Shireen Abu Akleh was shot in the face and died of her wounds while reporting on an Israeli army raid in Jenin town, Palestinian officials and Al Jazeera say.
Jerusalem- Israeli army has shot and killed an Al Jazeera reporter in the occupied West Bank, Palestine’s Health Ministry and the Qatar-based news channel said.
Shireen Abu Akleh was “assassinated” on Wednesday by Israeli forces while reporting on a raid in the city of Jenin, which has seen intensified army raids in recent weeks as violence has surged, a Palestinian official said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed Abu Akleh’s killing and said a second reporter, Ali Samodi, working for the Jerusalem-based Al Quds newspaper had been wounded.
The shooting by the Israeli occupation forces on Shireen was deliberate and the bullet hit her below the ear in an area not covered by the helmet she was wearing, the director of Al Jazeera’s office in Palestine said.
In a statement, the Israeli army confirmed that it had conducted an operation early on Wednesday in Jenin refugee camp, saying its troops had shot back after coming under “massive fire” in Jenin.
It added that “there is a possibility, now being looked into, that reporters were hit – possibly by shoots fired by Palestinian gunmen.”
Killed ‘in cold blood’
“In a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Palestine,” the channel said in a statement, calling on the international community to hold the Israeli forces accountable for their “intentional targeting and killing” of the journalist.
Qatar’s deputy foreign minister condemned the killing in a Twitter post called for an end to “state sponsored Israeli terrorism.”
Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank recently.
Tensions have soared in the past weeks after a series of fatal attacks in Israel and deadly Israeli arrest raids across the occupied West Bank.
In Jenin, the Israeli army has blamed some of the attacks on residents and has stepped up operations in the area.
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