View more topics under
Foundations

Credit:

Shireen Abu Akleh, Facebook page

Feature Story

Revered Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh Is Laid to Rest as Evidence Mounts of a Targeted Killing

Snapshot

Jerusalem bids a mournful farewell to iconic slain journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, in the largest Palestinian funeral in the city in a generation.

Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was so familiar to Palestinians everywhere that she felt like family. Her death—caused by a single bullet precisely targeted to an area under her ear that was the only part of her head not covered by her press helmet—was a source of shocked outrage and wrenching sadness for all Palestinians. Her teammates, who were right next to her when she was shot on assignment in Jenin, attested that the shooting continued long after she fell and was clearly intended to prevent them from reaching her or offering any assistance.

“We were going to film the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming,” said Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Samoudi. “The first bullet hit me and the second bullet hit Shireen . . . there was no Palestinian military resistance at all at the scene.”1 Al-Samoudi later shared that Abu Akleh’s final words were, “Ali’s been hit!”2

The journalists had come to cover an Israeli raid into the Jenin refugee camp. They were at the entrance to the camp and had stood as a group for 10 minutes before proceeding to make sure the soldiers, about 150 meters away,3 were aware they were the press. Describing the atmosphere in that moment as “dead quiet,” al-Samoudi told the Washington Post, “There were no [Palestinian] fighters where we were, none at all,” he said. “We don’t put ourselves in the line of fire. Whatever the Israeli army says for us to do, we do. They shot at us directly and deliberately.”4

The site where Abu Akleh was killed, just outside Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, 2022

The site where Abu Akleh was killed, just outside Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, some days after her death on May 11, 2022.

Credit: 

Associated Press

Shatha Hanaysha, a local journalist who was on assignment with Abu Akleh when the shots rang out, told Al Jazeera: “We were four journalists, we were all wearing vests, all wearing helmets. The [Israeli] occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her because of the shots being fired. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.”5 A video taken by the team in the field confirms this narrative.

According to the autopsy report released by the Palestinian Authority’s Public Prosecution Office, later confirmed by a CNN special investigation, the Israeli soldiers were standing some 150 meters away. The high-speed bullet went through her skull, hit the inside of her protective helmet, and then rebounded into her brain, likely killing her instantly.6 As Hanaysha told Al Jazeera, “It was obvious that who killed her was intentionally aiming for exposed parts of her body where the helmet did not provide protection.”7

In a later interview, Hanaysha elaborated:

What happened was a deliberate attempt to kill us. Whoever shot at us aimed to kill.

And it was an Israeli sniper that shot at us. We were not caught up in crossfire with Palestinian fighters like the Israeli army claimed.

There was no fighting at the time. The location of the incident was in a relatively open area, away from the camp where Palestinian fighters can’t operate because they would be at a disadvantage there.

The type of gunfire is another indication. Palestinian fighters normally use semi-automatic rifles that spray bullets continuously.

These bullets were different. They were sporadic and precise. They were only shot when one of us moved. One bullet at a time.8

Jadaliyya ezine coeditor Mouin Rabbani noted that “snipers as a rule shoot after receiving authorization, Abu Akleh had been a thorn in the military’s side for decades, and she had previously expressed concern she might be targeted.”9 Israel had after all threatened to close Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem bureau and withdraw credentials from its 30 staff in the country some years earlier.10 It later backed away from the decision.11

The Palestinian Authority held on to the bullet and announced its Intention to add her case to one filed just days earlier with the International Criminal Court. The International Federation of Journalists, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) filed a formal complaint at The Hague for “systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists.” The press release issued to announce the filing stated that “at least 46 [Palestinian] journalists have been killed since 2000 and no one has been held to account.”12

Days after Abu Akleh’s killing, a statement by 229 Arab and human rights organizations and networks was issued calling for an end to impunity for Abu Akleh’s killing and all other cases that preceded it, as well as prosecution for Israeli incitement against civilians, including journalists. In that statement, the number of Palestinian journalists and media professionals “killed by the occupation bullets” was reported to tally 83 since 1972.13

“She was the sister of all Palestinians,” her brother, Anton Abu Akleh, told reporters at the family home in Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem. “What happened cannot be silenced.”14

“These bullets were different. They were sporadic and precise. They were only shot when one of us moved.”

Shatha Hanaysha, journalist who was with Abu Akleh when she was shot

Anton Abu Akleh at his home in Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem, after the funeral of his sister, Shireen Abu Akleh.

Anton Abu Akleh at his home in Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem, after the funeral of his sister, Shireen Abu Akleh

Credit: 

Wirefan.com

From Trailblazer to Icon

Abu Akleh began working as a news reporter for the Arabic language news channel Al Jazeera, when it first started operating in the occupied West Bank, in 1997. Aged 26, she was one of the network’s first field correspondents and helped establish its work there. By 2000, Palestinians were feeling disillusioned; some had been hopeful that the Oslo Accords would lead to real independence, but it had become clear to them by the end of the decade that Palestinian-Israeli negotiations were leading nowhere and settlement construction was continuing at a dizzying pace.

Bio Shireen Abu Akleh

A venerated Palestinian journalist who reported from the field in the occupied territories for a quarter of a century until she was murdered while on assignment.

Shireen Abu Akleh in the early years of her career as a journalist for Al Jazeera Arabic network

Shireen Abu Akleh in the early years of her career as a journalist for Al Jazeera Arabic network

That fall, the Second Intifada had erupted, followed less than two years later by Israel’s large-scale invasion of major West Bank towns and cities, especially in Jenin, where Abu Akleh remained camped out for the entire duration of the invasion. Her extensive reporting during that time made her a trusted and ubiquitous source of news about events that few other media outlets paid attention to.

In an online interview given to Al Jazeera before her death, Abu Akleh explained:

I’ll never forget the amount of destruction or the feeling that death was so close to us.

We would barely see our homes, we would carry our cameras and move across the military checkpoints and uneven roads. We would spend our nights in hospitals or with people we did not know and despite the dangers and the threats, we were keen to continue our job.

All that was in 2002 when the West Bank was stormed by the Israelis in a way that was not seen since 1967. In the difficult moments, I managed to overcome my fears because I chose journalism to be close to the people. It might not be easy to change the reality, but at least I was able to convey the people’s message and voice to the world.15

From the siege of spring 2002, she went on to cover myriad stories, large and small, including the Gaza wars of 2008–9, 2012, 2014, and 2021, as well as regional conflagrations such as the 2006 Lebanon War. Her colleagues were not entirely joking when they called her “Palestine’s war correspondent.”

Throughout her more than 25 years of reporting live on air from every corner of Palestine that Al Jazeera was allowed to cover, she inspired a generation of young Palestinian women to follow her into journalism. Some later became colleagues.

Many Palestinians shared that they genuinely felt like it was a member of their own family who was shot dead. Her signature signoff, “Ana Shireen Abu Akleh, Al Jazeera, Ramallah [or whatever location she was in], Filastin,” was familiar to all. Her distinctive voice and in-depth, contextualized coverage of events carried an authority that the public trusted. Abu Akleh and her colleague Guevara Budeiri were the most recognized female Palestinian reporters who rose to fame after 1997.

Calling her a “media icon,” journalism student Azhar Khalaf, 22, expressed the national loss in an interview with Al Jazeera: “She was in every home, she felt the pain of every Palestinian and conveyed their pain. She was the voice of truth and justice.”16

Dena Takruri, a presenter and producer for AJ+, said:

“She was in every home, she felt the pain of every Palestinian and conveyed their pain. She was the voice of truth and justice.”

Azhar Khalaf, journalism student

I knew Shireen as a colleague and a friend. For years I had watched her trailblazing reporting across the occupied Palestinian territories and looked up to her as a role model. I met Shireen in 2010 at the beginning of my career at Al Jazeera and was excited to get to know the woman who had inspired me and countless others to become journalists. Shireen was kind, loving, humble, and fierce, and she will be remembered as a brilliant intrepid journalist who was the voice of the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom . . . her death is a devastating loss.17

Ayman Mohyeldin, formerly of Al Jazeera and now at MSNBC, paid tribute to Abu Akleh as well:

She was a fearless reporter who I got to know when I was based in the region. In fact she even took me under her wing and taught we so much about the region and the conflict as newsrooms colleagues. We became friends.

She was kind. She was gracious. She was hilarious. She was compassionate. Her humanity was unmatched and was reflected in the people she covered and the stories that she told for nearly 25 years reporting on the front lines of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. And while she became a household name across the Arabic-speaking world, she also became a role model for millions of young children who aspired to be journalists in one of the most fraught regions of the world to be a journalist.18 

“Shireen was kind, loving, humble, and fierce.”

Dena Takruri, AJ+

Dalia Hatuqa, formerly of Al Jazeera and now a freelance journalist, wrote this tribute to a colleague and friend:

Covering what Amnesty International and others call clear human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories never broke her. It never stopped her from appreciating and enjoying life.

Even in [Washington,] DC, people would stop her in the street asking for a selfie, to which she would happily oblige. She was down to earth, and oozed modesty and humility. Of course, it would be impossible for her to not know what she meant to so many people, but she never let it get to her or go to her head.

Her unpretentious air opened doors across the West Bank and Gaza to her. In the Palestinian territories, every family knew her name and would engage with her because they knew she would do their story justice.19

Abu Akleh’s audience spanned the entire Arab world. Political economist and policy analyst Tawfiq Haddad described the profound sense of loss experienced by Arab viewers at the news of her killing:

Professional and unsensational, yet caring in her delivery, Abu ‘Aqleh gained a reputation as a reliable front-line reporter who communicated what was happening on the ground, often doing so in situations that were individually and collectively dangerous and traumatic. By reporting on the Palestinian struggle for liberation, she also was the conduit for communicating a sense of hope and bravery to her viewers, which combined with other factors, contributed to the Arab revolutionary waves of the past decade. This explains the enormous outpouring of emotion, shock, grief, and injustice we witness across the Arab world and beyond, as her killing was fundamentally experienced as an attack on the truth, and indeed, hope itself.20

Mohammad Shtayyeh, the Palestinian Authority (PA) prime minister, called Abu Akleh “a national figure” and “a star.” He told Al Jazeera that Abu Akleh was “not only a correspondent, but she lived the cases and was reporting about every single detail of the Palestinian daily life.”21

Bint al-Quds

For Palestinians, Abu Akleh was bint al-Quds—the daughter of Jerusalem—who spent much of her life in the beloved city. Born in 1971, she studied at the Rosary Sisters’ School in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem. She earned a degree in media and journalism from Yarmouk University in Jordan, and spent some time in the US, but she returned to her city and made her career in Palestine.

Headshot of Jerusalem journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Shireen Abu Akleh

Credit: 

Shireen Abu Akleh Facebook page

Many Palestinians had not been aware that Abu Akleh was also an American citizen or that she came from a Christian background; she was a Melkite Catholic. They knew her and admired her all those years for the person that she was: a longtime professional journalist with high integrity. All those who knew Abu Akleh would describe her, among other things, as a compassionate, kind person with a big heart.

Abu Akleh was a revered figure, and a role model for many. With that said, in the eyes of most Palestinians, she represented “the girl next door.” Despite her successful career, she remained close to the ground and was accessible to all those who needed her. “Her roots were so deep-rooted in Jerusalem, and her family as well. I have seen Shireen Abu Akleh nearly everywhere—in condolences houses, in celebrations, in demonstrations and in sit-ins,”22 said Shtayyeh, the prime minister.

“Her roots were so deep-rooted in Jerusalem, and her family as well.”

Mohammad Shtayyeh, Palestinian Prime Minister

From Jenin to Jerusalem

As a Jerusalem resident, Abu Akleh was entitled to be buried in Jerusalem, alongside her parents. (Israel rejected appeals to bury Yasir Arafat in Jerusalem in 2004, just one of many other Palestinians whose wishes to be buried in their birthplace were refused.)

From Jenin, which is 75 km north of Jerusalem, Abu Akleh’s body was taken to Nablus for an autopsy and then brought to Ramallah.

All along the way—in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah—the public turned out to accompany and embrace her and she had, in effect, one of the longest funeral processions in Palestinian.

A Palestinian honor guard carries the coffin of Shireen Abu Akleh at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah

A Palestinian honor guard carries the coffin of Shireen Abu Akleh during the funeral procession at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, May 12, 2022.

Credit: 

Xinhua via Alamy Stock Photo

Because Israel has severed Jerusalem from its Palestinian hinterland (see Jerusalem: A Closed City) and outlawed any activity on the part of the PA within the Jerusalem municipal borders, the PA held its own official funeral in Ramallah to give Abu Akleh the honor and respect she deserved. She was given a full state memorial service and posthumously awarded the nation’s highest honor, the Star of Jerusalem medal, one of the highest honors given to Palestinian, Arab, and foreign personalities who have served Palestine and the Palestinian people in a significant way.

Thousands were in attendance at the PA’s presidential compound in Ramallah.

At the Borders of Jerusalem, Disastrous Israeli Attempts to Control the Funeral Begin

Once Abu Akleh’s body reached Qalandiya checkpoint, which controls Palestinian access into Jerusalem, the trouble began.

The Israeli authorities stopped the funeral procession and insisted on removing the blood-splattered Palestinian flag that covered Abu Akleh’s coffin. Israel does not allow the Palestinian flag to be flown inside the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem (even though doing so is not technically illegal). In Israel’s eyes, the Palestinian flag and Palestinian national organizations equate to a national Palestinian claim over Jerusalem, a claim that Israel ferociously rejects.

The funeral of Abu Akleh—a national Palestinian symbol who was quickly becoming a legend—which was covered live for hours and watched by a grieving nation, provided graphic evidence of Israel’s determination to maintain exclusive control over the city at any cost, oblivious (or perhaps indifferent) to the public relations disaster it was creating for itself.

Abu Akleh’s body was taken to the morgue at St. Joseph Hospital in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem for the night, and her family retired to their home in Beit Hanina.

But the Israeli police showed up at the house, insisting that Palestinian flags be removed and that nationalist chants cease. They later summoned Abu Akleh’s grieving brother, Anton, who had only just flown in from Somalia where he was on a work trip with the United Nations, to the local police station to discuss the funeral. He later relayed: “We informed them of the arrangements we had made, the roads we planned on walking—from Jaffa Gate to Mount Zion. They demanded that we not raise the Palestinian flag or chant slogans.”23

“They demanded that we not raise the Palestinian flag or chant slogans.”

Anton Abu Akleh, brother of Shireen Abu Akleh

The Day of the Funeral

The next morning, May 13, hundreds of mourners began gathering at the hospital morgue and in its courtyard to escort the coffin to the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Virgin in the Old City, where the service would be performed. The mourners said a Muslim prayer and a Christian prayer.

Around one o’clock, when the pallbearers set out on foot from the morgue doorway to the hospital courtyard carrying the coffin, they were charged by about 150 Israeli police outfitted in riot gear; some rode on horseback. The police charged and brutally beat the mourners, including the pallbearers, who struggled to not let the coffin fall to the ground.24

The police charged and brutally beat the mourners, including the pallbearers.

Israeli police beat back Palestinians bearing Shireen Abu Akleh’s coffin as it leaves St Joseph Hospital in East Jerusalem

Israeli police beat back the family and friends who are bearing Shireen Abu Akleh’s coffin as it leaves St Joseph Hospital in East Jerusalem to head for the church in the Old City by foot, May 13, 2022.

Credit: 

Ammar Awad, Reuters via Alamy Stock Photo

Israeli police besiege the hearse carrying the body of Shireen Abu Akleh, intent on seizing Palestinian flags

Israeli police besiege the hearse carrying the body of Shireen Abu Akleh, intent on seizing Palestinian flags. The hearse was trying to leave the courtyard of St Joseph Hospital in East Jerusalem and head for the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate (Church of the Annunciation) in the Old City. Police even smashed one of the windows of the hearse to forcefully remove a Palestinian flag. May 13, 2022.

Credit: 

Jamal Awad, UPI / Alamy Live News

Their aim appeared to be to force the funeral to proceed in a hearse. A walking procession (traditionally done for funerals of this size and significance) would be more moving, evocative, and slow; the route would take mourners right through the heart of Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood that has been targeted for forced expulsions by settlers, and through the heart of East Jerusalem. The other aim was to prevent the display of any Palestinian flags, which police forcefully seized from mourners’ hands, at the hospital and throughout the day across the funeral procession. The Israeli police were determined to avoid a major show of Palestinian national presence in Jerusalem.

Armed with batons, tear gas, stun grenades, sponge-tipped bullets, and riot gear, the police brutally beat the nascent funeral procession right back into the hospital doorway. However, the violence did not end there. When the pallbearers were compelled to place the casket into the hearse, the police smashed a window of the vehicle and ripped out a Palestinian flag that was displayed over the casket. They also forced open the rear hatchback door and pulled out at least one man, dragging him out of the vehicle, possibly in order to arrest him. A pallbearer who had been beaten by police was arrested a few days later and interrogated about his participation in the funeral.25

After the hearse had departed, the police detained the mourners in the hospital courtyard, delaying their departure for the church for one hour.

The Israeli police were determined to avoid a major show of Palestinian national presence in Jerusalem.

Anton, the only sibling of Shireen, later berated the Israeli police for “extreme, vicious and brutal force” outside the hospital. “Everyone who was there was there to mourn Shireen. What’s this mob they’re talking about? And even if there were one or two, how many police do you need to deal with it? The whole story here is illogical and untrue,” he said.26

He categorically denied Israeli claims that a “mob” had seized the coffin without permission.

“Whatever we had agreed upon, the way in which the police handled the situation as soon as the casket was taken out of the hospital was shameful. They used brutal, extreme force and even beat the pallbearers. It was simply unacceptable,” said Anton.

“They should have given us the time to conduct her funeral without their interference.”27

He also noted: “They could have easily blocked the road if they didn't want to see the funeral leave the hospital but the attack was intentional and brutal.”

The attacks on mourners, seen in real time by a global audience, triggered shock and revulsion.28 For example, Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, tweeted: “The inhumanity in these images is horrifying. Even in death, Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqla was denied dignity and compassion.”29

Church Leaders Condemn Police Violence

A few days after the funeral, on May 16, the top Christian religious leaders in Jerusalem held a press conference at St Joseph Hospital regarding police actions at the hospital during the funeral. Speaking with one voice, they read a prepared statement which said:

“We, the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the bishops and the faithful of the Christian Churches in the Holy Land, hereby condemn the violent intrusion of the Israeli Police into a funeral procession of the slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, as it was going from Saint Joseph Hospital to the Greek-Melkite Cathedral Church.

“The Police stormed into a Christian health institute, disrespecting the Church, disrespecting the health institute, disrespecting the memory of the deceased and forcing the pallbearers almost to drop the coffin.
Israeli police storm St. Joseph Hospital in Sheikh Jarrah Jerusalem, May 13, 2022
“Israeli Police’s invasion and disproportionate use of force, attacking mourners, striking them with batons, using smoke grenades, shooting rubber bullets, frightening the hospital’s patients, is a severe violation of international norms and regulations, including the fundamental human right of freedom of religion, which must be observed also in a public space.

“The St. Joseph Hospital has always proudly been a place of encounter and healing for all, regardless of their religious or cultural belonging, and it intends to continue to be so. What happened last Friday deeply wounded not only the Christian community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, the owner of the Hospital, and all the hospital staff, but also all people who in that place have found and still find peace and hospitality.

“The Sisters and the staff of St. Joseph Hospital will keep their commitment to being a place of healing.

“The tragic episode of last Friday makes this commitment even stronger than ever.”

 

Source: The Palestinian News & Info Agency, “WAFA: ‘Jerusalem Church Leaders Condemn Israeli Police Violence at St. Joseph Hospital during Abu Akleh’s Funeral,’” IMEMC News, May 16, 2022.

 

Top church leaders in Jerusalem convene to condemn the actions of the Israeli police on the day of the funeral.

“Even in death, Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqla was denied dignity and compassion.”

Jagmeet Singh, leader, New Democratic Party, Canada

“A National Funeral, Not a Family Funeral”

Anton debunked the police claim that it was acting at the behest of the family. He said, “there was no agreement between us and the police . . . We gave them the number of participants and the path of the funeral and this is what happened.

“We told the police that this is a national funeral and not a funeral for the Abu Akleh family, but a funeral for all the Palestinian people.”30

The funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh in the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate (Church of the Annunciation) in the Old City of Jerusalem

The funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh in the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate (Church of the Annunciation) in the Old City of Jerusalem, May 13, 2022

Credit: 

Ammar Awad, Reuters via Alamy Stock Photo

Family and friends carry the coffin of Shireen Abu Akleh on Greek Catholic Patriarchate Street leading to the church in the Old City of Jerusalem

Family and friends carry the coffin of Shireen Abu Akleh on Greek Catholic Patriarchate Street leading to the church in the Old City of Jerusalem, May 13, 2022.

Credit: 

Xinhua, Alamy Stock Photo

“We told the police that this is a national funeral and not a funeral for the Abu Akleh family, but a funeral for all the Palestinian people.”

Anton Abu Akleh

All that notwithstanding, Abu Akleh’s funeral was historic in every way. In the end, it was a national funeral. With more than 10,000 people in attendance,31 it was the largest funeral in Jerusalem since that of Faisal Husseini in 2001.

Had all routes to the city been left open, the crowds would undoubtedly have been many times that size. Many of the gates to the Old City were blocked by police. “Because the police had put restrictions on the roads to prevent people from participating in the funeral, I was even late to the church,”32 Anton later said.

Beyond the city itself, millions of Palestinians were unable to enter the city because Israel does not allow to Palestinians with Palestinian Authority IDs to enter Jerusalem unless they have entry permits, which must be obtained from the COGAT. The process takes time and has no guaranteed outcome (see Jerusalem: A Closed City).

Despite all the restrictions, the funeral service was held at the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate (Church of the Annunciation) in the Old City of Jerusalem, just inside the Jaffa Gate in the Old City. Abu Akleh’s funeral was notable for the diversity of attendees—old, young, Christian, Muslim, religious, secular, urban, rural; on this day, everyone set aside any differences and honored Abu Akleh as one united people. Journalists and diplomats representing media and countries worldwide were also present, as were countless others.

Photo Essay The Gates of the Old City

A quick guide to the often-confusing gates to the Old City of Jerusalem

The march from the church to the cemetery, funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh, East Jerusalem, 2022

The march from the church to the cemetery, funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh, East Jerusalem, May 13, 2022

Credit: 

Mays Shkerat for Jerusalem Story

The march from the church to the cemetery, funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh, East Jerusalem, 2022

The march from the church to the cemetery, funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh, East Jerusalem, May 13, 2022

Credit: 

Mays Shkerat for Jerusalem Story

The march from the church to the cemetery, funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh, East Jerusalem, 2022

The march from the church to the cemetery, funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh, East Jerusalem, May 13, 2022

Credit: 

Mays Shkerat for Jerusalem Story

After the funeral in the church, thousands of mourners walked in sadness, anger, and unanimous solidarity from the church toward the Mount Zion Christian cemetery, along the walls of the Old City. Bells of all the 13 churches in East Jerusalem movingly rang simultaneously, an unprecedented event signaling unity. Mourners chanted Christian and Muslim religious chants in harmony as they marched side by side: “Al-Masih qam”; “Allahu akbar.”

The Israeli police continued their aggressive efforts to confiscate Palestinian flags even as the procession—a virtual flood of people—wound toward the cemetery. But almost each time they managed to seize a flag, another was raised by someone else.

Mourners at the grave of Shireen Abu Akleh in Mount Zion cemetery in Jerusalem, 2022

Final resting place: Mourners at the grave of Shireen Abu Akleh in Mount Zion cemetery in Jerusalem, May 13, 2022

Credit: 

Mays Shkerat for Jerusalem Story

After a tumultuous final journey, Abu Akleh was buried next to her parents at the Mount Zion Christian cemetery. Finally at rest, her memory, her legacy, and her spirit live on forever.

Notes

1

Steve Hendrix, Sufian Taha, and Shira Rubin, “American Reporter Killed by IDF, Network Says; Israel Calls for Inquiry,” Washington Post, May 11, 2022.

2

Hendrix et al., “American Reporter Killed by IDF.”

4

Hendrix et al., “American Reported Killed by IDF.”

5

Zena Al Tahhan, “Palestinians Mourn Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Call for Justice,” Al Jazeera, May 12, 2022 (updated May 20, 2022).

8

Shatha Hanaysha, “Shireen Abu Akleh killing: Eyewitness Account of Al Jazeera Journalist’s Shooting,” Middle East Eye, May 11, 2022.

9

Mouin Rabbani, “Savages,” Jadaliyya, May 18, 2022.

10

Ori Lewis, “Israel Moves to Shut Down Local Operations of Al Jazeera,” Reuters, August 6, 2017.

11

Times of Israel Staff, “Israel Backs Away from Shutting Down Al Jazeera,” Times of Israel, August 30, 2017.

13

Statements,” Miftah, May 14, 2022.

14

Majeda el-Batsh and Gareth Browne, “Palestinians Honour Slain Journalist, Reject Joint Probe,” Al-Monitor, May 12, 2022.

15

Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan, “Beloved Palestinian-American Journalist Killed in Israeli Raid,” Common Dreams, May 13, 2022.

16

Al Tahhan, “Palestinians Mourn.”

17

“How Israel Killed a Journalist.”

20

Tawfiq Haddad, Facebook entry, May 11, 2022, 7:11 p.m.

21

Al Tahhan, “Palestinians Mourn.”

22

Al Tahhan, “Palestinians Mourn.”

24

Shira Rubin, “Amid Global Anger, Israel Says It Will Investigate Police Assault on Funeral,” Washington Post, May 15, 2022.

26

Boxerman, “Abu Akleh’s Brother Slams Police.”

27

Boxerman, “Abu Akleh’s Brother Slams Police.”

28

Al Jazeera Staff, “Israeli Police Attack on Shireen Abu Akleh Mourners Sparks Outcry,” Al Jazeera, May 14, 2022.

29

Jagmeet Singh, Twitter feed, May 13, 2022.

30

Agence France-Press, “After Outcry, Israel Police to Probe Actions at Journalist’s Funeral,” Daily Tribune, May 15, 2022.

31

Boxerman, “Abu Akleh’s Brother Slams Police.”

32

Boxerman, “Abu Akleh’s Brother Slams Police.”

Load More Load Less