He represented peace against the Israeli occupation
The assassination of Sherine Abu Aqelah... to silence her voice
Shirin's killer has not been revealed yet.
Emirates today
Blinkin called Anton Abu Aqleh and offered his condolences.
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A man made several attempts to move Shireen, but he had to hide because of the successive gunshots.
Getty
The police attacked the mourners when they refused to carry the coffin in a car and carried it on their shoulders to the church.
Getty
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2022 is the year of conflicts erupting... and an attempt to redraw "maps"
It may be a matter of superficiality and ignoring the facts if we consider that 2022 was a normal year, because the events that took place in this year were truly exceptional, and were reflected in their consequences and effects, and perhaps their specificity, on the whole world, because some of them were an attempt to redraw maps.
Given that the world’s events are many, and we cannot go over all of them, we will try to address the most important of them, such as the explosive demonstrations in Iran a few months ago, which shook the Iranian regime from within, and sparked mixed reactions across the world, and the Ukraine war and its economic and geopolitical effects. The countries of the world, especially the European continent, the departure of Queen Elizabeth, who formed a large part of Britain's modern history, and enjoyed great popularity around the world, the visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan and the challenge of China, and the visit of President Joe Biden to the Middle East, and what It sparked reactions, the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia, and his convening of more than one summit, in what can be considered a repositioning of Beijing towards the Middle East, and a reorientation by some Arab countries towards Beijing.
Prepared by: Hassan Abdo Hassan /
Many bullets were fired quickly and repeatedly interrupting Safaa Sabah Rabi'i in the city of Jenin in the West Bank on Wednesday, May 11 of this year.
The photographer retreated while filming this scene to hide behind a small cement wall.
Then I heard the cries of a man saying: "She is wounded, Shirin, Shirin, people of Shirin, bring the ambulance."
With these words, a CNN reporter described the scene of the martyrdom of 51-year-old journalist Sherine Abu Aqleh, at 6:30 am, with bullets that were said from the beginning to have come from the direction of the Israeli army.
The filming showed that Sherine was lying motionless with her face touching the ground, while another Palestinian journalist, Shatha Hanaysha, was crouching on the ground beside her, hiding behind a tree trunk, both of them wearing helmets with "press" written on them.
In the moments that followed, a man appeared and made several attempts to move Shireen, but he was forced to hide because of the successive gunshots, and finally managed to pull her body from the street.
Eyewitnesses told CNN that they believed that the Israeli forces on the same street where Shireen was, had deliberately shot the journalists, as all the journalists were wearing blue bulletproof vests identifying them as press workers.
The journalist, Hanaysha, said: “When Sherine fell, I did not realize, honestly, that she had been shot. I could hear the sound of bullets, but I was not convinced that the bullets were directed at us.
I still can't believe what happened.
I thought they were shooting close to us so we could stay away from them, and I didn't think they were trying to kill us.”
stray bullets
On the day of the incident, the IDF spokesperson, Ran Koshav, told Army Radio that Abu Aqelah was “filming and working among armed Palestinians.” The Times of Israel, commenting on Koshav, said: “It appears they were armed with cameras, if you will allow me to say.” that".
Israeli television said it was not clear who shot Shirin.
At the beginning of the investigation, the army said it was possible that Shireen was hit by stray bullets fired by Palestinians, or by an Israeli sniper stationed 200 meters away from where the shots were exchanged, although neither Israel nor anyone else was able to provide any evidence of an appearance. Palestinian gunmen in the line of fire on Shireen.
But the CNN investigation provided new evidence, in the form of two videos of the shooting scene, showing that there was no active fighting, nor any Palestinian gunmen, near Shireen in the moments leading up to her death.
The video, obtained by CNN, and supported by testimonies from eight eyewitnesses, an audio analyst, and an explosives expert, indicates that Shireen was killed as a result of a targeted attack by Israeli forces.
One of the senior Israeli security officials explicitly rejected the result of the CNN investigation, on May 18, that the Israeli army deliberately killed Shirin.
After refusing to reveal his name, he told CNN: “The Israeli army has in no way targeted any civilian, especially those working in the press.” .
They weren't random bullets
The veteran British security and military adviser, Cobb Smith, said that Sherine was not killed by a burst of bullets with an automatic rifle, but rather by sporadic bullets.
He came to this conclusion because he saw the bullet marks left on the trunk of the tree, where Shirin fell.
"The number of marks on the tree proves that they were not random sprays, but rather they were targeted," he added.
For its part, the US Department of Justice opened an investigation into the murder of Sherine, as an American journalist, in the occupied West Bank.
This was confirmed by the Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, who said that Israel would not participate in it.
This announcement came six months after Shirin was killed while she was covering an Israeli army incursion into Jenin.
Although Israel initially said that Sherine was most likely killed by a Palestinian gunman during clashes with Israeli soldiers, before retracting last September, and acknowledging that “there is a high probability” that Sherine was killed by an Israeli soldier, she ruled out a criminal investigation. , according to the New York Times.
Shirin's funeral
During the afternoon of Friday, May 13, Shirin's funeral was held, as thousands gathered in East Jerusalem, for one of the largest Palestinian funerals in recent times.
A battalion of Israeli police attacked mourners carrying Shirin's coffin.
But the Israeli police later said that they intervened because the mourners, who wanted to carry the coffin on foot, refused to put it in a car according to the arrangements that had been agreed upon with Shirin's family, according to the New York Times.
But the police intervention shocked many inside and outside Israel, as the attack on mourners was considered egregious, regardless of the motive.
The attack took place outside the hospital in East Jerusalem, where Shirin's body was, as hundreds gathered for the funeral.
The police attacked the mourners when they refused to carry the coffin in a car, and carried it on their shoulders to the church, according to the European Union's representative in the West Bank, Sven Kun Bergsdorf.
The White House press secretary, Jane Psaki, described the video clip showing the Israeli police clashing with the mourners as “very disturbing,” and added, “We feel sorry for the attack on the funeral, which should be peaceful.”
Unnecessary clashes
The Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation, Issawi Freij, who is the only Arab to serve as a minister in Israel, said on Twitter that the police forces had “defiled” Shirin’s memorial and funeral, which led to unnecessary clashes, and added, “The police forces did not show any respect.” to the mourners, nor did it understand what its role is as an institution responsible for maintaining order, and not for fomenting violence.
On the other hand, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, contacted Shirin's family and offered her his deepest condolences and support, according to the "Israel Times" newspaper.
Anton Abu Aqleh also met with Pope Francis, and it was an "important emotional" meeting that gave him more strength for his struggle to reach "truth and justice" for his sister Shirin, according to the "Asia News" newspaper.
Anton said that this poignant moment is a source of support in the battle we are waging in Palestine.
Abu Aqleh stressed that “the issue of peace is essential, especially from the point of view of peace, because there will be no peace without justice.” He added, “Sherine was the voice of peace against the occupation, and she worked to convey the voice of the suffering of the Palestinians.
This is why it had to be silenced.
She was shot on purpose.”
• The British veteran military and security advisor, Cobb Smith, said that Sherine was not killed by an automatic rifle, but by sporadic bullets. He came to this conclusion because he saw the bullet marks left on the trunk of the tree, where Shirin fell. "The number of marks on the tree proves that they were not random sprays, but rather they were targeted," he added.
• A CNN investigation provided evidence in the form of two video clips of the shooting scene, showing that there was no active fighting, nor any armed Palestinians near Shireen in the moments leading up to her death. The video, obtained by CNN, and supported by testimonies from eight eyewitnesses, an audio analyst, and an explosives expert, indicates that Shireen was killed as a result of a targeted attack by Israeli forces.
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