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  • CPJ calls on FBI to release timeline for conclusion of Shireen Abu Akleh investigation

    Washington, D.C., May 10, 2024—Two years after the Israeli military killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed at the continued lack of accountability in the case. CPJ calls on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to release a timeline for the conclusion of its now 18-month investigation into the killing, on the International Criminal Court to investigate the case as the Abu Akleh family and her employer, Al Jazeera, have requested, and on Israel to cooperate.

    “Israel continues to shield itself from accountability by deliberately refusing to cooperate with the FBI and by indicating it won’t let its soldiers be questioned before the International Criminal Court should it open an investigation into Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna in New York. “It is time to break Israel’s longstanding impunity in journalist killings, which have only multiplied in the Israel-Gaza war. The FBI needs to disclose a timeline for the conclusion of its investigation, and Israel must cooperate with the FBI probe and any future ICC probe.”  

    Last November, the U.S. Department of Justice notified Israel of the FBI investigation, and Israel said it would not cooperate with the probe. The FBI has not publicly released any findings nor has the investigation led to any statements of responsibility or arrests.

    In 2022, Abu Akleh’s family and her employer, Al Jazeera, submitted requests for the ICC to investigate and prosecute the killing. At the time of the Al Jazeera filing in December 2022, Israel’s then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid, said that “no one will interrogate IDF soldiers.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not commented on the Abu Akleh filings.

    Multiple independent investigations into Abu Akleh’s May 11, 2022, killing concluded that the veteran reporter – a household name in the region – was shot by a member of the Israel Defense Forces, which said its troops were in the area “to arrest suspects in terrorist activities.” Some of those in-depth analyses, including one by CNN, said there was evidence that Abu Akleh was deliberately targeted. A U.N. commission also said Israel “intentionally or recklessly” killed her.

    In September 2022, the IDF issued a statement on its internal probe which concluded that there was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh was “accidentally” killed by Israeli forces. The IDF declined to open a criminal investigation into the killing. In May 2023, IDF Chief Spokesperson Daniel Hagari apologized for Abu Akleh’s death on CNN.

    Hagari’s apology came days after CPJ published a report, “Deadly Pattern,” showing that Israel had failed to hold its soldiers to account for 20 journalist killings in 22 years. Since the report’s publication, Israel has killed at least 92 Palestinian journalists and three Lebanese journalists amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 60+ organizations urge US Congress to pursue justice for slain Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

    Washington, D.C., July 18, 2023 —It has been more than a year since Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was fatally shot while reporting on an Israeli military raid of a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The prevailing consensus is that an Israeli soldier was responsible for her death. Yet there has been no justice for Shireen.

    This week, a coalition of more than 60 national organizations sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to support the Justice for Shireen Act (H.R. 3477). The bill, introduced by Rep. Andre Carson (IN-07), would require the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Department to publicly report on the circumstances surrounding Shireen Abu Akleh’s death.

    The letter was led by the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Americans for Justice in Palestine Action, Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). Over 60 groups signed it, including U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Human Rights, Amnesty International USA, Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), If Not Now, Defense of Children International – Palestine (DCIP), Oxfam America, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), Arab American Institute, Human Rights Watch, Win Without War, and Center for Civilians In Conflict (CIVIC).

    This letter appeals to lawmakers to pass the Justice for Shireen Act and urges Congress and the Biden administration to take immediate steps to ensure U.S. assistance to Israel does not contribute to human rights violations against Palestinians or attacks on members of the press.

    Note to Editors: Attacks on journalists in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory represent a deadly pattern. On the first anniversary of Abu Akleh’s killing, the Committee to Protect Journalists published a report documenting at least 20 journalist killings by the Israel Defense Forces since 2001. The vast majority—18—were Palestinian. No one has ever been charged or held accountable for these deaths. 

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    The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 60+ NGOs call on US Congress to pursue justice for slain Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

    Read the full letter by a coalition of more than 60 organizations urging members of Congress to support the Justice for Shireen Act (H.R. 3477). (Read the press release about the letter here.)
    Letter to U.S. Congress on Justice for Shireen ActDownload


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israeli military destroys news equipment of Al-Araby TV crew covering Jenin operation

    New York, July 6, 2023 — The Israel Defense Forces must investigate the July 3 attack that destroyed an Al-Araby TV crew’s equipment, make public its findings, and take immediate measures to ensure journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

    On July 3, Al-Araby TV reporter Amid Shehadeh and camera operator Rabi Munir were covering an Israel Defense Forces operation against militants in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank when an IDF vehicle shot at their equipment, destroying a transmitter and knocking a camera off a tripod, according to a statement posted to Twitter by Al-Araby TV, a Qatari broadcaster. 

    The two journalists took shelter in a house a few feet away with two photographers from the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency and a third from Ruptly, a Russian state-owned video news agency based in Germany, according to The New Arab, which did not identify those other journalists by name. The journalists remained trapped until they were escorted out of the house by the Red Cross and Red Crescent and evacuated by ambulance to a hospital, according to Al-Araby TV’s statement, which did not say whether the journalists sustained injuries. 

    The IDF’s two-day operation, which killed 12 according to the United Nations, was the latest in a series of military incursions into the northern West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp after attacks by Palestinian militants. Last May, the Israeli military killed Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while she was covering a raid in Jenin. 

    “The Israeli military’s destruction of Al-Araby TV’s news equipment while the broadcaster’s journalists hid in fear shows how the military has continued to imperil reporting on its actions,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “The IDF must prevent troops from attacking journalists and their gear, investigate those responsible for this incident, and hold them to account.”

    In video footage of the incident published by The New Arab, shots are heard and the crew’s transmitter is seen in flames.  

    “This direct attack, recorded and documented by media outlets, reveals a blatant targeting of journalist crews and their equipment for no reason other than deliberately harming journalists, hindering their work, and disrupting their coverage. This action represents a clear violation of international human rights norms and standards that guarantee the safety of journalists,” said the Al-Araby TV statement. 

    In a previous incident in Jenin, on June 19, Hazem Nasser, a camera operator for Jordan’s Al-Ghad TV, was hospitalized with serious injuries after he came under IDF fire while he was reporting on fighting between Israeli forces and militants, according to The Associated Press and a statement by the local Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. An AP journalist at the scene witnessed the military directly shoot at the journalist, who was clearly identified as press. 

    The Israeli military told AP that it was “unaware of fire aimed at medics and journalists” and was looking into the incident.

    In a separate incident on June 8, two photojournalists, Momen Somrain and Rabi al-Munir, were shot by IDF soldiers with rubber bullets while they were reporting on the demolition of a terrorism suspect’s house in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. 

    CPJ emailed the IDF spokesperson for North American media but did not receive a reply. 

    In May 2023, CPJ published “Deadly Pattern,” a report on the Israeli military’s killing of 20 journalists in 22 years – and how no one has been held accountable for those deaths. 


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israeli military destroys news equipment of Al-Araby TV crew covering Jenin operation

    New York, July 6, 2023 — The Israel Defense Forces must investigate the July 3 attack that destroyed an Al-Araby TV crew’s equipment, make public its findings, and take immediate measures to ensure journalists’ safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

    On July 3, Al-Araby TV reporter Amid Shehadeh and camera operator Rabi Munir were covering an Israel Defense Forces operation against militants in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank when an IDF vehicle shot at their equipment, destroying a transmitter and knocking a camera off a tripod, according to a statement posted to Twitter by Al-Araby TV, a Qatari broadcaster. 

    The two journalists took shelter in a house a few feet away with two photographers from the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency and a third from Ruptly, a Russian state-owned video news agency based in Germany, according to The New Arab, which did not identify those other journalists by name. The journalists remained trapped until they were escorted out of the house by the Red Cross and Red Crescent and evacuated by ambulance to a hospital, according to Al-Araby TV’s statement, which did not say whether the journalists sustained injuries. 

    The IDF’s two-day operation, which killed 12 according to the United Nations, was the latest in a series of military incursions into the northern West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp after attacks by Palestinian militants. Last May, the Israeli military killed Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while she was covering a raid in Jenin. 

    “The Israeli military’s destruction of Al-Araby TV’s news equipment while the broadcaster’s journalists hid in fear shows how the military has continued to imperil reporting on its actions,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “The IDF must prevent troops from attacking journalists and their gear, investigate those responsible for this incident, and hold them to account.”

    In video footage of the incident published by The New Arab, shots are heard and the crew’s transmitter is seen in flames.  

    “This direct attack, recorded and documented by media outlets, reveals a blatant targeting of journalist crews and their equipment for no reason other than deliberately harming journalists, hindering their work, and disrupting their coverage. This action represents a clear violation of international human rights norms and standards that guarantee the safety of journalists,” said the Al-Araby TV statement. 

    In a previous incident in Jenin, on June 19, Hazem Nasser, a camera operator for Jordan’s Al-Ghad TV, was hospitalized with serious injuries after he came under IDF fire while he was reporting on fighting between Israeli forces and militants, according to The Associated Press and a statement by the local Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. An AP journalist at the scene witnessed the military directly shoot at the journalist, who was clearly identified as press. 

    The Israeli military told AP that it was “unaware of fire aimed at medics and journalists” and was looking into the incident.

    In a separate incident on June 8, two photojournalists, Momen Somrain and Rabi al-Munir, were shot by IDF soldiers with rubber bullets while they were reporting on the demolition of a terrorism suspect’s house in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. 

    CPJ emailed the IDF spokesperson for North American media but did not receive a reply. 

    In May 2023, CPJ published “Deadly Pattern,” a report on the Israeli military’s killing of 20 journalists in 22 years – and how no one has been held accountable for those deaths. 


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Sen. Chris Van Hollen: State Dept. Must Release Report on Shireen Abu Akleh Death, Hold Killers Accountable

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    We speak with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland about his call for the U.S. State Department to declassify a report on the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank last year. The Al Jazeera reporter was covering an Israeli military raid just outside the Jenin refugee camp and was clearly marked as press. “It’s my belief that the United States has an absolute obligation to get to the bottom of what happened, to hold the individuals accountable, or, in this case, potentially the IDF unit accountable,” says Van Hollen. The report is by the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority.


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israel Defense Forces shoot 2 Palestinian photojournalists with rubber bullets

    New York, June 8, 2023—Israel Defense Force officials must investigate the Wednesday, June 7, shootings of photojournalists Momen Somrain and Rabi al-Munir with rubber bullets and make public its findings, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. 

    IDF soldiers shot the journalists with rubber-coated bullets while they reported on an IDF demolition of a terrorism suspect’s house in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, according to news reports, statements by IDF officials, and the local press freedom group Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. 

    Somrain, who works for several independent Palestinian news outlets including Filistin Post, was shot in the head, and al-Munir, with the regional satellite channel Arab TV, was shot in the abdomen. Both journalists were hospitalized and are in stable condition as of Thursday evening.

    “Last month marked the first anniversary of the IDF killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and Israeli forces’ shootings of two photojournalists with rubber bullets show that her colleagues still work under tremendous risk,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “The IDF soldiers who shot Momen Somrain and Rabi al-Munir must be identified and held accountable.”

    “An initial inquiry suggests that a Palestinian photojournalist in the area of the violent riots was injured, likely by a rubber bullet,” the IDF wrote in a statement on Twitter, which said the incident was under review.

    Somrain’s uncle, Mohamed Somrain, also covered the event as a reporter and told news outlets that he saw IDF soldiers firing rubber bullets and tear gas at nearly 20 journalists wearing press insignias. He said Somrain was wearing a jacket clearly marked “Press” when he was shot.

    CPJ’s emails to representatives of Somrain and Munir and the IDF spokesperson for North America did not receive any replies. In its statement on Twitter, the IDF wrote that it “makes every effort to prevent any harm to non-combatants during operational activity & to allow freedom of movement and the press.”

    In May 2023, CPJ published “Deadly Pattern,” a report on the Israeli military’s killing of 20 journalists in 22 years—and how no one has been held accountable for those deaths.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Inspired by Shireen Abu Akleh, journalist Shatha Hanaysha was an eyewitness to her killing  

    Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, whose body was laid to rest in Jerusalem Friday, was an inspiration to a generation of female Palestinian reporters – including one who witnessed Abu Akleh’s killing on May 11. 

    Shatha Hanaysha, a 29-year-old correspondent for news website Ultra Palestine and contributor to regional news website Middle East Eye, was next to Abu Akleh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin when Abu Akleh was shot in the head. 

    “I wanted to reach her, but I just couldn’t,” Hanaysha said, recalling the danger of extending her hand to touch her colleague’s body. 

    In an interview with CPJ, Hanaysha recounted the incident and spoke about Abu Akleh’s influence in the occupied Palestinian Territories and beyond. Abu Akleh’s funeral was also met with violence as Israeli forces beat up mourners.

    CPJ called for an international investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing, which Al-Jazeera alleged was committed by Israeli forces “in cold blood.” The Israeli military said either Palestinian or Israeli fire killed the journalist and that Israel is continuing to investigate the incident in a statement emailed to CPJ. 

    A screenshot of an Al-Jazeera broadcast interview May 11 with Shatha Hanaysha about Shireen Abu Akleh. (YouTube/Al-Jazeera)

    What happened on the day Shireen Abu Akleh was killed?

    Shatha Hanaysha: We wore our helmets and “Press” vests and moved as a group of journalists to try and enter Jenin [refugee] camp. We waited about 10 minutes until the Israeli army saw us, and after that, we started moving further. We moved about 100 meters [328 feet] and then the shooting started at us. If the army wanted to ban us from reaching the area, they would have fired warning shots.

    We were trapped. Behind us was a wall, and the street was wide in front of us. Any move meant danger. When shooting started, [journalist] Mujahed al-Saadi jumped on the wall and told us to do so too, but I froze with fear. We moved back. 

    Shireen started screaming “Ali was hit. Ali was hit” [in reference to Al-Jazeera producer Ali al-Samoudi, who was also shot and injured]. They took him to the hospital, and then we were fired upon again. I was alone with Shireen when the [Israeli] occupation [forces] shot at us. I heard the shots but couldn’t imagine they were directed at us. I looked at Shireen and I thought that she just fell down. I was screaming, I knew she was hit, and then my colleagues started screaming. I just wanted to check if she was awake or not, but the shooting continued. 

    One of the guys on the street facing us tried to approach us but he couldn’t because it was too dangerous. He turned and came from behind, jumped on the wall behind us, and evacuated me, and then tried to assist Shireen. She couldn’t wake up. She didn’t wake up. That’s what freaked us out. She wasn’t waking up. 

    The shooting didn’t come from the Palestinian side. The street we were on was busy with moving cars. There weren’t any clashes, not even burning tires, which was the reason we had kept going – in order to get closer to the action and cover what was happening. 

    We were facing a house and an open space. We were fired upon from an area above us and shots hit the tree I was standing behind from above. It was where Israeli occupation forces were. 

    She was killed in Jenin and buried in Jerusalem. Every Palestinian village mourned her. I heard a person saying that he “grew up with Shireen.” We all did. We all lived with Shireen because she was in all of our houses since she joined Al-Jazeera in 1997. She left a mark in our hearts, in all Palestinian hearts. 

    Shireen’s colleagues covered her killing and funeral. They were filming, reporting, and crying. This will leave a mark that will never go away. 

    How did Shireen influence you as a female journalist?

    Shireen was the first woman reporter I saw in my whole life. Back when I was young, there weren’t many news outlets, only Al-Jazeera. This channel was in every Palestinian house, we followed all the news on it. Most of the time, Shireen was the one covering the news. She was a leader to us, because she was so brave, her presence in the field was impeccable.

    When I was young, my family members would tell me to “talk like Shireen.” When I was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I often answered, “I want to be a journalist like Shireen.” Shireen was my model and I wanted to be like her, a brave and successful professional journalist, a role model. 

    What was Shireen like as a colleague?

    She was magnificent. Both on the personal and professional levels, she was great. She had more than 20 years of experience, and I only have seven, but she always treated me as a colleague with respect. She respected and treated everyone with love. She memorized people’s faces.

    Everyone she reported on, including prisoners and martyrs’ families, were really saddened by the news of her killing. Everyone who watched her cried.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Middle East and North Africa Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.