Middle East mourns Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh with art and protest


Taylor Heyman
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A memorial was held in the Ramallah in the West Bank on Thursday to mourn the death of veteran Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

The reporter, who had covered the plight of the Palestinians for more than 25 years, was shot dead on Wednesday in an Israeli military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin.

As thousands gathered in Ramallah to mark her death, others in the region paid tribute in the forms of art and protest.

Gaza

A sand sculpture reads ‘Shireen Abu Akleh’ on a beach in Gaza city. Reuters
A sand sculpture reads ‘Shireen Abu Akleh’ on a beach in Gaza city. Reuters

Gazans paid tribute to the veteran reporter with a giant sand sculpture featuring her name in Arabic. A photograph of Abu Akleh was placed above.

Elsewhere in the enclave, a huge mural dedicated to Abu Akleh was created by Palestinian artists. It featured a painting of her and a bloodied press helmet. Abu Akleh was clearly identified as a member of the press when she was killed.

Palestinian artists paint a mural in honour of Shireen Abu Akleh in Gaza city. AFP
Palestinian artists paint a mural in honour of Shireen Abu Akleh in Gaza city. AFP

Syria

Syrian journalists and activists also painted a mural of Abu Akleh in Idlib and gathered nearby to pay their respects.

The reporter, 51, was well-known as a veteran on-air correspondent for Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language channel. Her reporting shed light on the harsh realities of Israeli military rule, which is well into its sixth decade with no end in sight. Abu Akleh was also a US citizen.

Doha

Towers in the Lusail area of ​​Doha are illuminated with the flag of Palestine and an image of Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed covering an Israeli raid in West Bank. Photo: @anadoluagency via Twitter
Towers in the Lusail area of ​​Doha are illuminated with the flag of Palestine and an image of Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed covering an Israeli raid in West Bank. Photo: @anadoluagency via Twitter

In Doha, where Abu Akleh's employer Al Jazeera has its headquarters, the Foster + Partners Lusail Towers were lit up with her image and a Palestinian flag. Qatar's deputy foreign minister said on Twitter that the nation "condemns in the strongest terms [the journalist's] assassination by Israeli occupation forces".

Turkey

Egyptian journalist Ibrahim El-Masry holds up his camera as he stands next to a placard with a picture of Shireen Abu Akleh, during a protest outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. Reuters
Egyptian journalist Ibrahim El-Masry holds up his camera as he stands next to a placard with a picture of Shireen Abu Akleh, during a protest outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. Reuters

Journalists in Turkey demonstrated outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday after the killing of their colleague. Turkey has called for an independent investigation into her death.

Lebanon

People attend a symbolic funeral for Shireen Abu Akleh at the Ain el-Helweh, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern coastal city of Sidon. AFP
People attend a symbolic funeral for Shireen Abu Akleh at the Ain el-Helweh, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern coastal city of Sidon. AFP

Palestinians held a symbolic funeral for Abu Akleh in Lebanon's Ain Helwah refugee camp, near Sidon.

Jenin

Children visit the site where journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank, in Jenin. AFP
Children visit the site where journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank, in Jenin. AFP

In Jenin, where Abu Akleh was killed, Palestinians left flowers and farewell notes. Journalists who were with her, including one who was shot and wounded, said Israeli forces fired upon them, even though they were clearly identifiable as reporters.

Israeli officials had initially suggested Abu Akleh was struck by militant fire and released a video showing gunmen shooting at Israeli forces in a narrow alley inside the Jenin refugee camp. They later backtracked after an Israeli human rights group released its own video indicating that the site of that shooting was several hundred metres from where Abu Akleh was killed.

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Updated: May 12, 2022, 4:44 PM`