Ramallah: In recognition of the first anniversary and assassinating martyr Shireen Abu Akleh, the iconic Palestinian journalist, Human Rights and Democracy Media Center- SHAMS, recalls her virtues and professionalism. Shireen Abu Akleh, as SHAMS Center highlighted, worked hard to cover the events in the Palestinian Territory and reflect the real picture of the horrible crimes that the Israeli Occupations committed against Palestinians. Abu Akleh managed through covering the crimes of the Occupation, to show the world the real Fascist face of the Israeli Occupation that targets armless civilians.
SHAMS Center emphasizes that within the first anniversary of murdering Shireen, the killers are still free and had not been trialed yet. Although the investigations of the Palestinian Prosecution including the Forensic Medicine as well as the investigations of the local and international human rights institutions and the international media agencies investigations, prove that martyr Shireen Au Akleh was killed by bullets shot by the Israeli army. In addition to that, the various investigations proved that injuring Ali Sammoudi and Shatha Hanaisha (who were with Shireen at the moment she was killed) are also injured with gunshots fired by the Israeli army.
SHAMS Center stresses that Palestinians are facing an enemy who intentionally commit crimes against them based on systematic policy and plan where all Palestinians, with no exceptions, are targeted by the occupation. In this regard, executing martyr Shireen Abu Akleh is one of the manifestations of the occupation’s Fascist policies applied against Palestinians. The practices and crimes of the occupation stand as profound violation of the international human rights law, mainly Geneva Fourth Convention that protects civilians under armed conflicts. The Israeli crimes represent violation of the first optional protocol (1977) annexed to Geneva Conventions, especially article 79, which affirms protecting journalists who work in the areas of armed conflicts where they are considered as civilians entitled to protection.
SHAMS Center condemns the international silence in front of the crime of assassinating and executing martyr Shireen Abu Akleh who was shot while wearing the press badge, which indicates that she is on duty covering news and has nothing to do with the clashes in the field. Targeting Abu Akleh is a clear violation of the international human right law that protects journalists who cover the news and report to the world about the crimes and violations committed against human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Center inveighs the passive position of the American Administration in dealing with the crime of murdering Shireen Abu Akleh who holds the American nationality. The American Administration did not condemn the Israeli army, who executed Abu Akleh in cold blood, in front of the world. The American Administration did not take any measures against the Israeli soldiers who murdered Shireen Abu- Akleh on public.
SHAMS Center emphasizes that targeting martyr Abu Akleh is part of the process of targeting Palestinians and uprooting them from their land as well as liquidating their national question through the Fascist policies and crimes of the Israeli occupation. The Israeli criminal policy against Palestinians is manifested through killing children, home demolishing, and assassinations. The Israeli crimes are also interpreted through confiscating Palestinians land, building colonies, Judaizing Jerusalem, polluting environment, arresting campaigns, and imposing closure and checkpoints to deprive Palestinians from right to freedom of mobility.
SHAMS Center calls upon the Palestinian official institutions to cooperate with the international legal institutions in order to follow up the case of executing Martyr Shireen Abu Akleh in front of the International Criminal Court- Hague, to ensure that the Israeli criminals would not escape punishment. SHAMS Center calls upon exploring any legal possibility within the American local or federal laws to lodge a legal case against executing Martyr Shireen Abu Akleh to trial the criminals and deter them from committing similar crimes against other journalists or other Palestinians.
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