Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was Wednesday shot dead by Israeli forces while reporting in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
The killing has sparked an outpouring of condolences and condemnation, as well as calls for a thorough investigation to hold those responsible to account.
In a statement, Al Jazeera Media Network condemned the “blatant murder that violates international laws and norms”.
It called Abu Akleh’s death a “heinous crime intended to prevent the media from fulfilling its message”.
“We hold the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of the late colleague Shireen,” the statement said.
Al Jazeera called on the international community to hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their “intentional targeting and killing” of Abu Akleh.
The Palestinian Authority presidency condemned the killing of Abu Akleh as a “heinous crime”, saying the murder was “part of the [Israeli] occupation’s policy of targeting journalists to obscure the truth and commit crimes silently”.
Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, offered in a post on Twitter his condolences to Abu Akleh’s family and colleagues at Al Jazeera media network.
Lolwah Alkhater, Qatar’s Deputy Foreign Minister, called the killing “state sponsored Israeli terrorism” and called for an end to “unconditional support to Israel”.
Kuwait’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the small Gulf country strongly condemned Israeli forces’ killing of Palestinian journalist Abu Akleh. Aljazeera
