Four years after Shireen Abu Akleh’s death, impunity persists as attacks on journalists surge
Ali Harb, Brian Osgood
Four years after Israeli forces killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank, no one has been held accountable. Human rights groups say the impunity has emboldened further attacks on journalists, with Israel now the deadliest country for the press. The United States opened an investigation but has not announced any charges, despite at least 14 U.S. citizens killed by Israeli forces since 2003.
On May 11, 2022, veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a U.S. citizen, was killed by Israeli fire at the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. The event marked a turning point in relations between Israel and the media, but four years later, no one has been held accountable.
According to witness Ali al-Samoudi, a colleague of Abu Akleh who was at the scene, he was shot in the back before the female journalist was killed. “There were no Palestinian fighters, no clashes near us. We were clearly wearing press vests,” al-Samoudi recalled. “This was not an accident or a coincidence.”
Over the past four years, Israel has become the country that kills the most journalists in the world, according to press freedom organizations. At least 40 Palestinian journalists remain in Israeli prisons.
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said: “The lack of accountability has created a sense of impunity for Israel. They believe they can get away with it.” Martin Roux of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the killing of Abu Akleh was a “message that Israel can freely terrorize Palestinian journalists without paying a price.”
The United States, a close ally of Israel, opened an investigation into Abu Akleh’s death in late 2022 but has not released any findings or filed charges. Investigations into other U.S. citizens killed by Israel have also yielded no results. Omar Shakir of the human rights group DAWN said at least 14 U.S. citizens have been killed by Israeli forces since 2003, but none have been prosecuted.
Ali al-Samoudi, after a year of administrative detention, said: “If the U.S. had imposed appropriate sanctions, it could have saved hundreds of Palestinian journalists and civilians. But they did not.” He stressed that Al Jazeera journalists will continue their work: “We have said and will continue to say: ‘Reporting continues.’ The voice of Shireen Abu Akleh will never be silenced.”
