UN says Al Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh killed by Israeli gunfire
Organisation refutes Tel Aviv’s claims her death was due to Palestinian bullets
Updated 17 minutes ago · Published on 24 Jun 2022 7:00PM ·
Mourners attend a memorial ceremony for Shireen Abu Aqleh, to mark the 40th day of the killing of the Al Jazeera journalist, in the West Bank city of Ramallah last Sunday. – AFP pic, June 24, 2022
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Apropos of the Israeli raid on the Gaza aid flotilla, noted Israeli peace activist and writer Uri Avnery mentions an interesting anecdote while commenting upon the role the Israeli government likes to play as a victim in instances when it clearly is the perpetrator of violence.
The joke is about a Jewish mother in Russia bidding farewell to her son, who has been summoned to serve the Czar in the war against Turkey.
“Don't overexert yourself” she implores him, “Kill a Turk and rest. Kill another Turk and rest again...” “But mother,” the son interrupts, “What if a Turk kills me?”
“You!” exclaims the mother. “But why? What have you done to him?”
The advice clearly exemplifies the performance of the Israeli government when it comes to assuming the role of a victim while being the agent of violence of an unspeakable nature.
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GENEVA – The United Nations said today that its findings showed that the shot that killed Al Jazeera TV journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 was fired by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked “Press” and a helmet, was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli army operation in Jenin camp in the northern West Bank.
“We find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli security forces,” UN Human Rights Office spokesman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
“It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation.
“We at the UN Human Rights Office have concluded our independent monitoring into the incident.
“The shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities,” she said.
She added that the information came from the Israeli military and the Palestinian attorney-general.
“We have found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists,” Shamdasani said.
In line with its human rights monitoring methodology, the UN rights office inspected photo, video and audio material, visited the scene, consulted experts, reviewed official communications and interviewed witnesses.
The findings showed that seven journalists arrived at the western entrance of the Jenin refugee camp soon after 6am.
At around 6.30am, as four of the journalists turned into a particular street, “several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli security forces.
“One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder; another single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly.”
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has urged Israel to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing and into all other killings by Israeli forces in the West Bank and in the context of law enforcement operations in Gaza. – AFP, June 24, 2022
***
Apropos of the Israeli raid on the Gaza aid flotilla, noted Israeli peace activist and writer Uri Avnery mentions an interesting anecdote while commenting upon the role the Israeli government likes to play as a victim in instances when it clearly is the perpetrator of violence.
The joke is about a Jewish mother in Russia bidding farewell to her son, who has been summoned to serve the Czar in the war against Turkey.
“Don't overexert yourself” she implores him, “Kill a Turk and rest. Kill another Turk and rest again...” “But mother,” the son interrupts, “What if a Turk kills me?”
“You!” exclaims the mother. “But why? What have you done to him?”
The advice clearly exemplifies the performance of the Israeli government when it comes to assuming the role of a victim while being the agent of violence of an unspeakable nature.
***
GENEVA – The United Nations said today that its findings showed that the shot that killed Al Jazeera TV journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 was fired by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked “Press” and a helmet, was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli army operation in Jenin camp in the northern West Bank.
“We find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli security forces,” UN Human Rights Office spokesman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
“It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation.
“We at the UN Human Rights Office have concluded our independent monitoring into the incident.
“The shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities,” she said.
She added that the information came from the Israeli military and the Palestinian attorney-general.
“We have found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists,” Shamdasani said.
In line with its human rights monitoring methodology, the UN rights office inspected photo, video and audio material, visited the scene, consulted experts, reviewed official communications and interviewed witnesses.
The findings showed that seven journalists arrived at the western entrance of the Jenin refugee camp soon after 6am.
At around 6.30am, as four of the journalists turned into a particular street, “several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli security forces.
“One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder; another single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly.”
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has urged Israel to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing and into all other killings by Israeli forces in the West Bank and in the context of law enforcement operations in Gaza. – AFP, June 24, 2022
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