A legal team has been hired to file a case against the killing of its journalist and bombing of its Gaza office by the Israeli forces
The network said in a statement that it has formed an international coalition that consists of its legal team along with international experts, and is preparing a dossier on the murder of Abu Akleh for submission to the ICC prosecutor. Aljazeera’s journalist Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli forces on May 11 near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Read more: Israeli forces kill Al Jazeera reporter Shireen – Global Village
In addition to that, the network’s legal team will also file a case against the Israeli bombing and complete destruction of Al Jazeera’s office in Gaza in May 2021, and “the continuous incitements and attacks” on Al Jazeera journalists working in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Al Jazeera network statement said the killing or physical assault on journalists working in war zones or occupied territories is a war crime under Article 8 of the International Criminal Court’s charter.
Read more: Al Jazeera journalist killed during Israeli raid Archives – Global
The Network vows to follow every path to achieve justice for Shireen, and ensure those responsible for her killing are brought to justice and held accountable in all international justice and legal platforms and courts.
Read more: Shireen Abu Akleh: Al Jazeera reporter killed by Israeli forces
Speaking to reporters in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian Attorney General Akram al-Khatib said that Abu Akleh, 51, was hit with an armor-piercing bullet. The journalist was wearing a helmet and a vest that was clearly marked with the word “PRESS”, the attorney general said, and Israeli “occupation forces … had fired a bullet that hit journalist Shireen Abu Akleh directly in her head” while she was attempting to escape.
Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s ambassador to the United Nations, told a meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday that the killing of Abu Akleh was “not a mistake”. “Shireen’s killing is the story, the same story she was telling. The difference is that this time the world knew the victim,” Mansour said. “We are not being killed because of what we do, but because of who we are. We are not being killed by mistake, but as part of a grand design to make sure we all understand no one is safe so that we all live with fear in our hearts and surrender,” he said. “If you are a Palestinian, you are a legitimate target” he added.