Libel: Killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was “a deliberate assassination operation” - Deputy Head of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate Tahsin Al-Astal

Deputy Head of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate Tahsin Al-Astal: “All the evidence confirms that there was a deliberate assassination operation, and that the murderer knew that he was targeting [journalist] Shireen Abu Akleh and targeting a group of journalists who were at the site [and that] he wanted to distance them from the scene of his crime.” [Official PA TV News, May 11, 2022]

Shireen Abu Akleh - 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist for Al-Jazeera who was shot and killed while covering a gunbattle initiated by Palestinian terrorists who attacked Israeli forces during an operation in Jenin on May 11, 2022. The PA immediately accused Israel of shooting Abu Akleh without providing evidence. Israel rejected the accusation, noting Palestinian terrorists were filmed shooting indiscriminately and saying they had hit an Israeli soldier even though no soldiers were wounded, possibly indicating they had shot Abu Akleh. The PA rejected Israel's request to conduct a joint investigation of the incident, and its request to let it examine the bullet that killed Abu Akleh to determine whether it was fired by Israeli forces. The bullet is of a type used by both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian terrorists. In a press conference following Abu Akleh's autopsy on the day of her death, Head of An-Najah National University’s Forensic Medicine Department Dr. Rayyan Al-Ali said it could not yet be determined which side shot her.