On May 11, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a long-time reporter for Al Jazeera, was shot dead by Israeli forces while on duty covering Israeli army raids in the occupied West Bank. Abu Akleh was wearing a press vest and a helmet, along with the other reporters at the scene – there was no resistance or violence from the Palestinian reporters, despite word from Israeli forces that this conflict was instigated by them. In fact, a spokesman for the Israeli military said that the reporters were “armed with cameras,” thereby making them warranted targets of fire. Importantly, the reporters were not once asked to leave or stop filming; the first indication that the reporters were not ‘allowed’ to be there was when the forces shot Abu Akleh in the head.
One of the four journalists at the scene, Shatha Hanaysha, was standing next to Abu Akleh and reported that “The [Israeli] occupation army did not stop firing even after she collapsed. I couldn’t even extend my arm to pull her because of the shots being fired. The army was adamant on shooting to kill.” As reported by the New York Times, Israel has rejected claims that the killing was deliberate, calling it a “blatant lie” and instead suggesting that Palestinian reporters may have accidentally been caught in the crossfire of Israeli snipers. Of course, this does not make the killing of Abu Akleh any less disturbing: the damage caused by the weapons used to persecute Palestinians obviously does not excuse anything. The claims that Israel has made about the situation are evidently inconsistent, further pointing to the fact that this was most likely a deliberate attack from the Israeli military.
This behavior from the Israeli occupation army is reflective of the systematic and ongoing persecution of Palestinians, regardless of any potential confrontation from Palestinians. The Israeli occupation of Palestine is an active threat to Palestinian sovereignty, indigenous land, and rights. This colonization and occupation of the West Bank has continued since the late 1960s and has forced Palestinians off their land to exclusively house Israeli settlers. As detailed by Amnesty International, Israel has demolished tens of thousands of Palestinian properties, has diverted Palestinian resources like water to be of use in the settler camps and regulates Palestinian daily life. The UN has also made many resolutions to stop Israeli occupation, which has been blatantly ignored, and the settlements continue to have strong support.
Ultimately bringing justice to Palestinians is urgent, and support and action from the international community are necessary to do so. Many companies and countries also support Israel, which in turn supports the occupation of Palestine. The United States, for example, is one of the closest allies of Israel, and this sends a dangerous and harmful message. In addition, governments can enable the economy that protects Israeli settlement and ethnic cleansing in and of Palestine: there are many international and Israeli businesses and enterprises that operate in the settlements, including Pillsbury, Hewlett Packard, and Sabra; and others export goods and services to the settlements, such as Swarovski, Trip Advisor, Roche Bobois, General Motors, and many more. These companies and countries normalize the occupation through their unyielding support; thus, the international community must divest from and boycott these companies.
It is equally important to distinguish between antisemitism and anti-Zionism and educate around this distinction since calling for the rights of Palestinians and Palestinian land does not diminish or disregard the Jewish identity. Clarifying this is needed because antisemitism must not be tolerated in any manifestation or iteration whatsoever. The demands of Palestinians must also be heard – calling for Palestinian rights must never be misconstrued as anti-semitic.
The safety of Palestinians has been under threat for decades now, and the violations of their human rights and well-being violate numerous international laws. The pushback even from mainstream media after the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh is worth noting, but it does not discount the fact that the United States, in particular, has long been compliant with the Israeli colonization of Palestine. This can create distrust in the international community from smaller states, like Palestine since there is not as much support for their existence as there is for more prominent states – repairing this trust and faith in human rights for everyone is pressing.
