JERUSALEM — Shireen Abu Akleh was a journalist associated with Al Jazeera, who was shot to death during a confrontation between Palestinian and Israeli forces near Jenin last week. She then became the centerpiece of a media and political obsession involving both communities.
Who shot her? And was her death intentional?
An opinion piece in Al Jazeera says that it was murder, not a killing. The newspaper, owned by Qatar, has been insistent in blaming Israel for an intentional murder, and supporting Palestinian rejection of a fair analysis of the case. Al Jazeera argued: “She was shot in the face. Not in the arm or a leg. In the face. That is not a ‘kill’ shot. That is a murder shot. Abu Akleh was shot in the face, on purpose, while doing what she has been doing since 1997 for Al Jazeera: telling the truth. She was murdered for telling, yet again, the truth about how Israel has corralled, bludgeoned, ‘raided,’ evicted, jailed, traumatised, tortured, murdered, and terrorised Palestinian after Palestinian, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade.”
She was within 100 meters of armed combat, wearing a vest on which the word, “PRESS” was prominent. But efforts to analyze film have been inconclusive in trying to assign responsibility for the killing shot.
What’s missing is the bullet that killed her. It could be traced to a weapon, and to either an Israeli or Palestinian. But it’s not forthcoming from the Palestinians. And were it to appear, how assured could we be that it was the bullet taken from Abu Akleh.
She was not the first journalist killed in the Palestinian-Israeli context, nor in other cases where arms are present. Journalists range close to combat, and protect one another in print when something goes wrong. It’s hard to find fairness in the context, when one group controls the media, and one side or another resists what may be described as fairness in probing a case of injury or death.
An item in Yedioth Ahronoth reported 45 journalists or media personalities were killed during 2021. Thirty-three were intentional murders. Of these numbers, only three were killed in the Middle East.
In the case of Abu Akleh, the Palestinians are going overboard in their celebration, and their blaming of Israel. And their resistance to an impartial assessment of the case. It’s part of their ambiguous animosity to Israel. They cooperate on security issues, and express themselves without limit in their animosity. Usually with the cooperation of other Muslim countries, but of a mixed kind. We can wonder as to how central the Palestinian concerns are throughout the Muslim world, when Israel is also well regarded and dealt with.
Abu Akleh’s funeral was marked by a great gathering, with a prominently decorated casket. Her burial in eastern Jerusalem brought mass police preparation, with expectations of conflict moving outward from what appeared to be a highly planned celebration. There was violence from some of the Palestinian participants, and some rough handling by the police, which has become the target of yet more condemnation. Israelis argue as to whether the Palestinian violence at the funeral was sufficient justificationn for police response. Americans also speak with what might be interpreted as condemnation of Israeli actions.
Al Jazeera is one of the Palestinians’ principal means of communication, and is relentless in portraying Israel in the darkest of words.
Will this case pass? Probably. But it’s part of an increase in terror attacks, often without organized connections, but with a constant effort to incite violence by the media, political leaders, and the Palestinian educational system.
Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University. He may be contacted via ira.sharkansky@sdjewishworld.com