Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday challenged the United States (US) to prosecute the killers of the Palestinian journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh and accused Israel of killing her.
Abbas said before the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), that Israel is killing our people with impunity, as it did with the Shireen Abu Akleh.
He added that Abu Akleh holds American citizenship in addition to her Palestinian nationality, and said, “I challenge America to punish, hold or prosecute the killers who killed her, why because they are Israelis.”
On May 11, Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by a bullet to the head while covering the Israeli occupation army’s incursion into Jenin, in the northern West Bank.
On May 26, the Palestinian Public Prosecutor, Akram Al-Khatib, announced the results of the Palestinian Public Prosecution’s investigations, which concluded that Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli sniper “without prior warning.”
On September 5, the Israeli army announced that there was a “high possibility” that Shireen was killed by “wrong” fire from an Israeli soldier, according to a statement that included the final results of an investigation conducted by the army.
Leading American press organizations, such as CNN and the Associated Press, and newspapers such as the Washington Post and New York Times, had published their own investigations, concluding that Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli bullets, and Al Jazeera conducted an investigation that reached the same conclusion.
Who is Shireen Abu Akleh?
Shireen Abu Akleh born in 1971 in occupied Jerusalem, is considered one of the most prominent Palestinian female journalists inside the Palestinian territories.
She studied architecture at the University of Science and Technology in Jordan, before moving to a major in written journalism, and obtaining a bachelor’s degree at Yarmouk University in Jordan.
After graduation, she returned to Palestine and worked for several news sites such as UNRWA, Voice of Palestine Radio, Amman Satellite Channel, Miftah Foundation, and Monte Carlo Radio, and later moved to work with the Al Jazeera satellite channel, in 1997, until her death by the Israeli occupation army on May 11, 2022.