Statement on the Assassination of Shireen Abu Aqleh

Palestine Writes Literature Festival | (palestinewrites.org) | May 11, 2022 –

This morning in Palestine, a sniper in the Israeli occupation military assassinated Palestinian American journalist, Shireen Abu Aqleh, while she was reporting for Al Jazeera on Israel’s ongoing attacks in Jenin. As usual when reporting on Israeli assaults, Shireen Abu Aqleh was wearing a bulletproof vest emblazoned with the word “Press” on the front and back when an Israeli soldier shot her in the face, shattering her skull. The horrific murder was witnessed by her fellow journalists on the scene and was captured on camera.

Shireen Abu Aqleh has been covering events in Palestine for two decades, over which time she became a much beloved personality, a household name throughout Palestine, and an iconic journalist who bravely and consistently reported what Israel worked to hide.

All of us at the Palestine Writes Literature Festival are deeply saddened and shocked by her flagrant murder, which is another in a long list of prominent individuals assassinated by Israel in their ongoing attempt to silence Palestinian voices.

We send our heartfelt condolences to Shireen’s family.

We condemn Israel in the strongest possible terms.

And we call on the United Nations, human rights organizations, and journalists everywhere to investigate her murder in order to hold Israel and the specific sniper accountable. We call on the Biden administration and the State Department to conduct a fully transparent investigation.

As the internationally recognized Nakba Day approaches, we remember and celebrate Shireen and other journalists who continue to report the truth of Israeli colonialism and apartheid. And we vow to continue to lift our voices, to remember and say her name until Palestine is free, from the river to the sea.

In solidarity,

Palestine Writes Organizing Committee