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Doctors had to restrain the Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi while tending to his wound when the body of his friend Shireen Abu Akleh arrived at Ibn Sina Hospital in the West Bank which is being used.
“I was able to look and see Shireen lying next to me. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I started screaming, and I tried to get to her. She didn’t let me,” said al-Samoudi when he told Al Jazeera what happened on May 11, 2022.
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But I knew from my experience in the field work that it was obvious that he was killed.”
Earlier in the day, Israeli soldiers shot al-Samoudi in the back before firing another bullet that killed Abu Akleh, a US citizen and former Al Jazeera journalist who was popular in the Arab world.
Monday is the fourth anniversary of the killing of Abu Akleh.
Immediately after the shooting, Al Jazeera denounced it as a “cold-blooded” murder. Since then, Israel has killed hundreds of journalists and more than 10 US citizens in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank.
None of these killings, including the Abu Akleh case, have resulted in arrests or charges.
Advocates say Washington’s failure to hold an Al Jazeera journalist accountable in Israel is leading to a serious Israeli crackdown on journalists.
“The lack of accountability, the lack of justice, the lack of law and the failure to prosecute those who killed Shireen led to the problems we are seeing and the systematic and widespread killing of journalists,” al-Samoudi said.
“Now Israel – very freely – says it is killing journalists.”
The position of the US
Al-Samoudi said that the United States has a special responsibility to ensure justice for Abu Akleh because the journalist was an American citizen and because Washington has close ties with Israel.
The US gives Israel a chance billions of dollars in military support every year and provides diplomatic support in the Middle East ally to the United Nations and other international forums.
“If the US would have given proper measures and punishment to Israel for the killing of Shireen, it could have saved hundreds of Palestinian journalists and civilians,” said al-Samoudi, asking US officials to “wake up” and stand against Israel’s atrocities.
“All this favoritism, all this support for Israel has proven to be a violation of our right to freedom and existence as a people,” al-Samoudi said.
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, echoed the same sentiment.
“The US is the only power that can act here. It has levers that it chooses not to use,” Zogby told Al Jazeera.
While Israeli officials confirmed in late 2022 that the US opened an FBI investigation in the shooting of Abu Akleh, the investigation did not report public figures or charges.
Al-Samoudi, one of the few people who witnessed the shooting, said he was only interviewed by US officials once, and there was no follow-up.
The United States Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment at the time of publication.
Former US President Joe Biden’s administration has not confirmed the FBI’s investigation, and has adopted an Israeli report that of Abu Akleh it happened by accident.
Martin Roux, head of the crisis desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said the killing of Abu Akleh sent a message that “Israel will be free to threaten Palestinian journalists without consequences”.
“This was part of a long series of killings of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli army. Unfortunately, we don’t see a lack of accountability and justice, and a lack of pressure from Israel’s allies like the United States,” Roux told Al Jazeera.
What happened that day?
Although Israel said the shooting was not intentional, al-Samoudi – who worked for Al Jazeera at the time – stressed that he was certain that he and Abu Akleh had been targeted.
Along with other journalists, two Al Jazeera journalists arrived that morning on the west side of the Jenin refugee camp, where the Israeli army is operating.
A line of Israeli military vehicles was parked on the side of the road. The reporters were dressed in plain clothes.
“We entered the street. There were no (Palestinian) fighters. There were no clashes of any kind near us. There were not even stone throwers. We were also far away from the Palestinian civilians who were behind us,” al-Samoudi said.
“As journalists, we were on our own. We were looking for the Israeli army to get closer to them so we could find a safe place to report.”
Then the first shot rang out. Al-Samoudi, who was in the front, turned to inform Abu Akleh that the Israeli army was firing.
“I told him, ‘Let’s go back, it looks like they’re shooting at us.’ As soon as I finished my sentence, I felt something hit me. “I put my hand on his back and found blood,” he said.
“Turning around caused the bullet to reach my back, and the soldiers must have wanted to shoot me in the chest.”
According to al-Samoudi, Abu Akleh’s last words were “Ali was wounded.”
“The shooter kept shooting. I ran away. I was bleeding profusely. Shireen came back and stood next to the wall,” said al-Samoudi.
“I ran to the hospital to go back, so I didn’t look, otherwise I would have seen him shot, I got into a civilian car and told the driver to take me to the hospital, and we left for the Ibn Sina hospital, which was 500 meters away (1,640 meters).
The journalists appeared and did not threaten Israeli forces, al-Samoudi said, adding that there was no warning before the shooting.
“If they told us to leave, we would have left,” he said.
Al-Samoudi revealed that Abu Akleh was shot in the neck in a small, visible area between his helmet and protective jacket.
“This was not an accident or an accident,” he said.
The killing of Abu Akleh came at a time when Israel increased its threats to the West Bank, and the government of the Prime Minister at the time. Naphtali Bennett pushing to portray himself as uncompromising against the Palestinians amid criticism from the right.
Before the genocidal war in Gaza began in October 2023, the UN announced that 2022 A very dead year for Palestinians in the West Bank in 16 years.
Al-Samoudi said the killing of Abu Akleh was a “threat” targeting Al Jazeera for its coverage of Israeli violence in the West Bank. especially in Jenin.
“They didn’t want us to live there. There was an Israeli plan to commit many crimes against the Palestinians,” he said.
He didn’t want people to see things randomly, and he didn’t want any documents, and he didn’t want anyone to reveal the cruelty that Israel was doing to Israel.
‘Obfuscating’
After Abu Akleh was killed, Bennett falsely claimed that the reporter had been shot by Palestinian militants, sharing video footage of clashes in the streets not far from where he was shot.
After the news broke, Israel said it had opened an investigation into the incident.
In September of that year, Israel the soldiers said there was a “high probability” that Abu Akleh was “accidentally hit” by Israeli fire.
The conclusion was inconsistent with the accounts of eyewitnesses and the investigation of several media outlets which found that Abu Akleh had been targeted.
“Israel’s response to his assassination set a precedent of denial, lies and manipulation.” First, they say they didn’t do it. Then they say someone did it. And at the end of the day, they’re saying they’re going to keep an eye on it,” Zogby said.
“This is a method of avoiding accountability that Israel has been using as a tried and true method for all kinds of crimes.
Zogby added that the US is “copying Israel’s game plan” in dealing with the killings.
“Part of the obfuscation process came from the US. They started an investigation, and four years later, there are no answers. It’s a way to protect Israel by delaying it,” he said.
In the past year, the US and Israel also responded to the killing of some US citizens by Israeli soldiers and residents with an investigation that did not lead to any charges.
For example, last year, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee asked Israel to “vigorously investigate” the killing of a 20-year-old American citizen. Sayfollah Musalletwho was beaten to death by residents of the West Bank.
But after 10 months, there is no case in the case.
Omar Shakir, head of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said the rights group has registered at least 14. US citizens killed by Israeli soldiers or residents since 2003, and no one has charged them.
“When the United States failed to force Israel to kill Shireen Abu Akleh, it sent a clear message: American lives do not matter when Israel kills them,” Shakir told Al Jazeera. “This impunity has had dire consequences.”
‘The spread continues’
For the past four years, Israel has been a great killer of journalists worldwide, according to press freedom groups.
In many cases, the Israeli army has been documenting and sharing pictures of the killing of journalists, falsely claiming that they are Palestinians. or Lebanon military units.
Israeli airstrikes have killed 12 Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, including prominent TV writers Ismail al-Ghoul and Anas al-Sharif.
In the West Bank, press freedom has been under attack by Israel. Al-Samoudi was released earlier this month after spending a year in Israeli prisons, where he was tortured and emaciated.
Al-Samoudi said that, in addition to the existing problems, journalists in the West Bank are facing an increasing threat of people living in violence, with the help of the Israeli army.
“There are attacks on journalists. There are restrictions on their movement. There are brutal demonstrations and injuries,” he said.
One of his first orders after returning to the White House last year, US President Donald Trump lifted US sanctions against right-wing Israeli colonists who are accused of perpetrating and encouraging violence against Palestinian civilians.
Al-Samoudi also emphasized the increasing trend of imprisoning journalists without charging them, where he himself has fallen.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association, more than 40 Palestinian journalists remain in Israeli prisons.
“They want to stop us from doing our job, especially since we are Shireen’s friends and colleagues, we have said, and we will continue to say, ‘the publication continues.’ Shireen Abu Akleh’s words cannot be stopped,” said al-Samoudi.
Al-Samoudi praised Abu Akleh, stressing that his legacy will last for generations.
“Shireen represented a well-known school of journalism, personality, culture, high thinking. She was dedicated to accomplishing her work professionally. Her reporting was neither unusual nor traditional,” he said.
“He was able to analyse, explain and narrate any event skillfully, which gave him a high respect which made him close to people and respected by everyone. Shireen Abu Akleh it is the flame of Palestine that will not be extinguished.”
