Amman -

Sometimes she talks about her passion and excellence in studying journalism, and another talks about her attachment to her father and her work despite its danger. Among the memories, Laila Abu Aqila, the aunt of the martyr Sherine, remembers a long period of time she spent with her while she was in Jordan.

Although a week has passed since her death, the news of Shireen's assassination by the Israeli occupation army still shocks her aunt.

She says, "I can't believe that Sherine is dead and will leave the screen, and I will not see her in the coverage of Palestine news."

Aunt of the martyr Sherine Abu Aqleh (first from right) at the mass in Jordan (Al-Jazeera)

Study and family

Aunt Abu Aqila tells Al Jazeera Net stories about her love for Shireen. She lived in her home during her studies in the nineties at Yarmouk University in Jordan, and during a vacation between classes she was spending her vacation with her aunt and relatives there.

The aunt says that Sherine used to spend her vacation time studying, following up on news channels, preparing research and reports required of her for the university, and was keen to use her time to read and read various books.

Aunt Laila states that Sherine left studying architecture at the University of Science and Technology and went to study journalism and media, to "harness her work in serving the Palestinian cause, exposing the crimes of the occupation, its killing of innocents, the demolition of homes and the violation of churches and mosques."

After completing her studies, Shireen returned to Jerusalem and worked in several media organizations before joining the crew of Al-Jazeera satellite channel in Palestine in 1997.


her father's death

Sherine was deeply affected by the death of her father, Nasri Abu Aqleh, about 10 years ago.

The aunt said, "She was attached to him and loved him very much, and she was always talking about him during her stay with us during her studies, especially since Sherine was his spoiled child."

The aunt added that Shireen's father always encouraged her to excel in her studies and supported her in her work despite its danger, and he always told her, "We are the owners of a cause, and we are required to defend our cause in various ways."

And she continued, "When my brother Nasri died in Jerusalem, Sherine obtained a permit from the occupation to allow us to attend the funeral, participate in the funeral mass, and visit the graves of our people in the occupied territories."

Aunt Abu Aqila concludes her speech by saying that "Shireen will remain alive in the memory of the Palestinian, Jordanian and Arab people, and we will never forget her.

Relatives of Sherine Abu Aqleh at Sunday mass in the capital, Amman (Al-Jazeera)

royal disapproval

The official and popular Jordanian denunciation of the assassination of the martyr Shireen Abu Akleh and the interaction with the event continued over the past days.

The Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, made a call to Sherine Abu Aqleh's brother, during which he offered condolences to the family and denounced the heinous crime, according to the royal court.

The Jordan Media Institute announced the allocation of an annual scholarship to obtain a master's degree in journalism and media for Palestinian female journalists, bearing the name of Shireen Abu Aqleh, based on the directives of the King and at his own expense.

The royal directive came in honor of the martyred journalist, and in appreciation of her professionalism in media work and her excellence in performing her duties in courageously reporting events from within the occupied Palestinian territories and conveying the suffering of the Palestinian people, according to a statement by the Jordanian Royal Court.

A number of Jordanian universities have also allocated scholarships for the bachelor's and master's degrees in the name of the martyr journalist.

The Hayat Education Fund decided to announce a full university scholarship in the name of journalist Sherine Abu Aqleh, to be covered at any Jordanian university.


Jordanian sympathy

Professional unions, political parties and Jordanian popular events organized vigils against the assassination, and the Journalists' Syndicate and sports clubs opened homes for condolences in a number of Palestinian refugee camps to accept condolences for the martyr Abu Aqleh.

The Latin Heart of Jesus Church in Amman, in cooperation with the Catholic Media Center, held a mass and a funeral for journalist Abu Aqila.

And it came in conjunction with the churches in Palestine and Jordan raising prayers to comfort themselves during last Sunday prayers.

The Church's pastor, Father Rifaat Badr, said during the Sunday sermon, "We are in front of a personality we loved, and who loved her Christ and her Christian faith, as she loved and defended man and transmitted the suffering of the Palestinian people to all parts of the earth."

He continued, "Her name will remain shining in the path of struggle, and in the Palestinian people's entitlement to their independent state," noting that Sherine Abu Akleh loved the media, and had a sublime message in conveying human pain and hopes through sound and image.