Remembering Shireen Abu Akleh: A journalistic legacy cut short

At the time of her killing by Israeli forces in May 2022, Shireen Abu Akleh was a household name known for delivering the latest news from the occupied West Bank.

Abu Akleh, 51, was struck down while working in a profession she had been in for more than two decades; killed by Israeli soldiers while wearing a press vest and helmet.

‘Close to the people’

Born in 1971 in East Jerusalem to a Palestinian Christian family, Abu Akleh forged a career in journalism that would become synonymous with the Al Jazeera network.

She initially chose to study architecture, however, later switched to a degree in journalism at Jordan’s Yarmouk University.

"I chose journalism to be close to the people,” Abu Akleh is recorded as saying in a video shared by Al Jazeera.

"It might not be easy to change the reality, but at least I could bring their voice to the world."

Abu Akleh spent some time in the United States, where she obtained citizenship through relatives who lived in New Jersey.

But her career path would take her back to Palestine, where she worked for Voice of Palestine Radio and the Amman Satellite Channel, among others.

In 1997, she found her home at the new Al Jazeera Media Network, where she would work for the next 25 years.

The early years of her career would see her cover the second Intifada in 2000, Israel’s brutal siege of Jenin and the death of Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat.

Famed for her trailblazing reporting, Abu Akleh quickly became a household name, known for her iconic sign-off: "Shireen Abu Akleh, Al Jazeera, Filasteen (Palestine)".

'Assassinated'

On May 11 2022, Abu Akleh was covering an Israeli raid on Jenin when she was fatally shot by Israeli forces.

Eyewitnesses accused Israeli troops of deliberately targeting Abu Akleh, who was hit just above the shoulder - an indication that the lethal shot was deliberate.

The Israeli army initially blamed Palestinian fighters for the death, however later conceded in September - four months after the killing - that one of its soldiers had likely shot Abu Akleh.

"They didn't fully admit that it was them. They didn't even give us the name of the soldier," she told AFP. "They are unwilling to even open a criminal investigation," relative Lina Abu Akleh told AFP at the time.

A year on, no one has been held to account for her killing, with Israel still unwilling to accept responsibility.

Israel has also vowed not to cooperate with external probes, including one by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

"While all the investigations clearly show the responsibility of the Israeli army in the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, the absence of political will still prevents justice from being brought to them," Reporters Without Borders (RSF)) said in a statement on Thursday.

"This pattern of outrageous impunity on the part of Israeli forces cannot continue"