Posted in: 12/05/2022 – 11:25
An official funeral will be held Thursday at the Palestinian Presidency in Ramallah for the body of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, who was killed on Wednesday while covering the Israeli army’s storming of Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, with the participation of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in addition to a popular and official presence. While her body is expected to be transferred Friday to Mount Zion Cemetery, where she will be buried alongside her parents. Abu Aqila was killed, while her colleague at Al-Jazeera, Ali Al-Samudi, was shot in the upper back.
On Thursday, an official funeral will be held for the body of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, at the Palestinian presidency headquarters in Ramallah, in the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas.
The news of the veteran journalist’s killing while covering an Israeli security operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank shocked everyone who knew her and used to follow her reports for more than two decades, whether in the Palestinian territories, the Middle East, or even in Europe and the United States of America, of which she holds her citizenship.
In Ramallah, mourners who gathered in front of the channel’s office in the city center on Wednesday carried the body of the Qatari Al-Jazeera correspondent. The body was deposited in the Al Jazeera office for a farewell look before mourners roamed the city’s streets.
It is expected that the body will be transferred Friday to a church in occupied East Jerusalem, where Abu Aqila was born and where she was staying in the family home, before being buried to Mount Zion cemetery, where she will be buried alongside her parents.
For his part, the journalist’s brother, Anton, said that Sherine “was the daughter of Palestine and the sister of every Palestinian and every Arab.” He added with deep pain, “It is not possible to remain silent about what happened today, and this is the biggest proof of the strong presence of the Palestinian people in their land.”
Abu Aqila was killed, while her colleague in the island, producer Ali Al-Samudi, was shot in the upper back near Jenin refugee camp, while they were on their way to cover the ongoing clashes in the camp between the Israeli army and Palestinian fighters.
Al Jazeera Media Network blamed the Israeli government for the “cold blood” killing of Abu Aqila, describing it as an “assassination”.
On Wednesday, the Ramallah municipality announced its intention to name a street in the city of Ramallah, “the martyr Shireen Abu Aqleh.”
FRANCE 24 / AFP