By Yasmine Darwish / GICJ 

Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) strongly condemns the killing of  Al-Jazeera TV reporter, Sherine Abu Akleh, by Israel and call on the international community to take action against this most recent war crime and to put an end to the grave Israeli violations against journalists and the Palestinian people.

Sherine Abu Akleh, who worked for Al-Jazeera for 25 years, was killed on May 11, 2022, by the Israeli army while covering events in the Jenin area in the occupied West Bank. According to information we received, the occupation forces were very well aware of Ms Abu Akleh’s whereabouts and intentionally fired live ammunition at her head, killing her immediately.

This attack highlights once again that Israel deliberately targets journalists to disrupt and prevent independent coverage. Israel has killed 46 journalists since 2000. With over 700 attacks and crimes committed by the occupation against Palestinian journalists, it is time to put an end to these crimes and bring the perpetrators and all those who gave the orders to carry them out to justice. 

Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) expresses its condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased and to the Al Jazeera network. GICJ strongly condemns the war crimes committed by Israel and once again calls on the international community to not only condemn acts of violence by Israeli forces on the Palestinian people, but also to end the occupation of Palestinian Territories. Furthermore, we call on the International Criminal Court to add this new crime to the list of crimes to be investigated by the Court and to take the necessary measures to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Sherine Abu Akleh, Journalist, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights, Geneva4justice, GICJ Geneva International Centre For Justice, Justice