How impunity in Shireen Abu Akleh's case fuels Israeli attacks on the press

"Medics had to restrain Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi while tending to his bullet wound when the body of his colleague Shireen Abu Akleh arrived at Ibn Sina hospital in the occupied West Bank. I managed to look and see Shireen lying next to me. I couldn't believe the situation. I started screaming, and I tried to get to her. They didn't let me, said al-Samoudi as he recounted to Al Jazeera the events of May 11, 2022."

"Earlier that day, Israeli soldiers had shot al-Samoudi in the back before firing another bullet that claimed the life of Abu Akleh, a US citizen and veteran Al Jazeera correspondent who was renowned across the Arab world. Monday marks the fourth anniversary of the killing of Abu Akleh. Immediately following the shooting, Al Jazeera denounced it as an assassination in cold blood. Since then, Israel has killed hundreds of journalists and more than 10 US citizens in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank."

"None of the killings, including the Abu Akleh case, led to any arrest or charges. Advocates say Washington's failure to ensure accountability for the Al Jazeera correspondent set the stage for greater Israeli abuses against the press. The absence of accountability, the absence of justice, the absence of the law and the failure to prosecute the perpetrators of the crime of assassination of Shireen led to these miseries that we are witnessing and the systemic and widespread killing of journalists, al-Samoudi said."

Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi described being shot by Israeli soldiers and witnessing Shireen Abu Akleh arrive at Ibn Sina hospital with a fatal bullet wound. He said he knew from field experience that she had been killed and that medics had to restrain him while they treated him. Abu Akleh, a US citizen and veteran Al Jazeera correspondent, was shot after soldiers fired at al-Samoudi. Al Jazeera denounced the killing as an assassination. Advocates said no arrests or charges followed, and that Washington’s failure to ensure accountability contributed to further abuses, including widespread killings of journalists and additional US citizens in multiple locations.

Read at www.aljazeera.com