Her name was Shireen Abu Akleh, she was 51 years old and she was a figure of the television channel Al Jazeera, a familiar face on screens in the Middle East, killed on Wednesday May 11 in the West Bank where she was covering clashes in Jenin for her channel. Despite wearing a ‘press’ bulletproof vest, Shireen Abu Akleh succumbed after being shot in the face. Considerable emotion among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinian enclave.
>> West Bank: what we know about the death of an Al-Jazeera journalist during an Israeli army operation
Al-Jazeera’s premises in Gaza are still temporary, since May 15, 2021, when an Israeli strike pulverized the building where the premises of the television channel and the Associated Press agency were located, during the war. between Hamas and Israel. The chain’s employees were to move into new premises on Sunday, May 15. This “anniversary” will be even harder, says Wael Al-Dahdouh, an emblematic Al-Jazeera correspondent in Gaza who cannot talk about his colleague in the past tense. « Shireen is really a great journalist, very famous toohe confides. He is an incredible person and what happened is a very, very big shock. We only met once when she came to Gaza. But we saw each other hundreds, thousands of times through the screen during our live broadcasts. »
« We used to cover the news hand in hand, we exchanged information about the situation in Palestine. We knew each other really well and our relationship is great. »
Wael Al-Dahdouh, Al-Jazeera correspondent in Gazaat franceinfo
Throughout the day, personalities from Gaza came to offer their condolences to the Al-Jazeera team, which continued its live broadcasts in Arabic and English. The men, seated on a sofa, receive the respects of visitors. Coincidentally, a delegation of European diplomats spent the day in Gaza to celebrate World Press Freedom Day a few days late. « It’s very serious because it goes against the essential principles of freedom of expression and the ability of a media outlet to be independent and to have the ability to report from conflict areas without fear. to be killedreacts Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, head of the European delegation in the region, present with the Consul General of France in Jerusalem. An immediate and independent investigation was immediately called for. Apparently the Israeli foreign minister has proposed a joint investigation between Israel and the Palestinians. » The Europeans having left, we saw huge wreaths of flowers arriving in the name of the various Palestinian political movements.
Shireen Abu Akleh was born in Jerusalem 51 years ago. She had acquired American nationality but the colleague from Al-Jazeera was indeed Palestinian, Arabic-speaking. A familiar voice and face to viewers across the Arab world. Many young Palestinians have seen her recount the second intifada 20 years ago. « Our colleague was killed for thisconfides with emotion Sami Owaida, a 57-year-old doctor. We are very, very sad, traumatized and shocked by what is happening because she was deliberately targeted. It touches me deeply. All Palestinians are sad. »
« She was in Gaza several times, she always tried to cover everything that happens here transparently and professionally. And she is very nice. »
Sami Owaida, doctor in Gazaat franceinfo
« She was targeted » as she wore a ‘press’ jacket. « What does it mean ?asks Sami Owaida. It means the Israelis don’t care about anyone. I feel a lot of anger. »
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In a music school in Gaza, a keffiyeh on their shoulders and candle in hand, the children sang in front of an improvised altar, a small table with flowers and the photo of the deceased.