A Palestinian holds a light candle and a picture ofAl Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, to condemn her killing, in front of the office of Al Jazeera network, in Gaza City
(Picture: AP)UN Secretary General António Guterres has said he is “appalled” by the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla, and demanded an independent investigation into her death.
Ms Abu Aqla, 51, was shot dead while covering a raid by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.
Broadcaster Al Jazeera said Israeli troops “deliberately” shot her. Israel’s prime minister said it was “likely” she was shot by Palestinian gunmen.
In a statement issued via his spokesperson late on Wednesday, Mr Guterres called on “the relevant authorities to carry out an independent and transparent investigation into this incident and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
“The secretary general condemns all attacks and killings of journalists and stresses that journalists must never be the target of violence,” he added.
The Palestinian Authority on Thursday rejected an Israeli request to hold a joint investigation into the killing of the journalist, saying it would not hand over the bullet that killed her for ballistic analysis.
Hussein Al Sheikh, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said that the Palestinians would conduct their own independent probe and that all parties would be informed of “the results of the investigation with high transparency.”
Israeli officials initially suggested that Abu Akleh may have been killed by militant fire, saying later there were no “final conclusions.”
Two reporters who were with Ms Abu Akleh, a veteran Al Jazeera journalist, have also blamed Israeli forces for her death.
Her death was met by an outpouring of grief across the West Bank. Her body was to be taken to the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah on Thursday before being brought to Jerusalem for burial on Friday.
The killing sparked condemnations from around the globe.
Abu Akleh’s death could draw new scrutiny of Israel’s military justice system, which is being examined as part of a war crimes probe conducted by the International Criminal Court. It also threatened to further strain often rocky relations between the army and the international media.
Abu Akleh, 51, was a respected and familiar face in the Middle East, known for her coverage on Al Jazeera Arabic of the harsh realities of Israel’s open-ended military occupation of the Palestinians, now in its 55th year. She was widely recognized in the West Bank and was also a U.S. citizen.
Her death comes amid a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence that has been fueled by tensions at a key Jerusalem holy site.
At least 18 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in recent weeks, while more than 30 Palestinians, most of them involved in attacks or clashes with Israeli forces, have been killed.
A few others have appeared to have been unarmed or passersby, sparking criticism that Israel has used excessive force in its crackdown on militants.
