Al Jazeera TV to refer killing of its journalist to ICC
People light candles during a vigil in memory of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed during an Israeli raid, outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 16, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
Qatar's Al Jazeera TV Network will refer the killing of its journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it said in a televised statement on Thursday.
Abu Akleh, a prominent Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter, was shot dead during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on May 11.
Al Jazeera's legal team alongside international legal experts will prepare a file on the killing of Abu Akleh to refer it to the ICC.
The Qatar-based news channel said the 51-year-old reporter was shot "deliberately" and "in cold blood" by Israeli troops.
Health officials in the West Bank said Abu Akleh, a well-known Palestinian reporter for the broadcaster's Arabic language channel, was shot and died soon afterward. Another Palestinian journalist working for the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper was wounded but in stable condition.
The Palestinian health ministry said the reporters were hit by Israeli fire. In video footage of the incident, Abu Akleh can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word “PRESS.”
The Israeli military said its forces came under attack with heavy gunfire and explosives while operating in Jenin, and that they fired back. The military said it is “investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”
In a statement EARLIER, Al-Jazeera called on the international community to hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their "intentional targeting and killing" of the journalist. "In a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera's correspondent in Palestine," the statement said.
Read more: Al Jazeera reporter killed by Israeli army gunfire in West Bank
Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks amid a series of deadly attacks inside Israel, many of them carried out by Palestinians from in and around Jenin. The town, and particularly its refugee camp, has long been known as a militant bastion.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want the territory to form the main part of their future state. Nearly 3 million Palestinians live in the territory under Israeli military rule. Israel has built more than 130 settlements across the West Bank that are home to nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers, who have full Israeli citizenship.
Israelis have long been critical of Al-Jazeera's coverage, but authorities generally allow its journalists to operate freely. Another Al-Jazeera reporter, Givara Budeiri, was briefly detained last year during a protest in Jerusalem and treated for a broken hand, which her employer blamed on rough treatment by police.