The Diplomat
The Spanish government yesterday “firmly” condemned the death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, of the Al Jazeera channel, in Jenin (West Bank) and called for “the investigation and clarification of the serious events that occurred” and for respect for “freedom of the press and the work of journalists”.
The journalist was killed yesterday during an Israeli operation in this Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, while covering clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces in a refugee camp. The videos show the journalist wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet with the word “press” on it. The Palestinian Authority has blamed the death of the informant on the Israeli army, which, for its part, has assured that its troops entered the compound to arrest “terror suspects” and that the journalist and a colleague who was wounded were hit “possibly by gunfire from armed Palestinians”.
The Israeli Embassy in Spain issued a statement yesterday through its Twitter account in which it assured that the Al-Jazeera journalist “was wounded and died, apparently, by Palestinian gunfire, and not by fire from the Israel Defense Forces.” “The Israeli Defense Forces always warn journalists covering such situations that they should be extremely careful when entering and staying in spaces where terrorist gunfire is recorded,” he added. “The State of Israel stands for the truth and its government has called on the Palestinians to conduct a joint investigation,” he added. “We express our sorrow for the death of the journalist, we consider freedom of the press to be extremely important and we act in order to preserve it,” the note concluded.
