Shireen Abu Akleh Assassination: Family Submits Complaint To ICC

Abu Akleh, who was with Al Jazeera for 25 years and known as the “voice of Palestine,” was shot in the head and killed by ‘Israeli’ occupation forces on May 11 while she was covering an army raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

She was wearing a flak jacket and helmet that clearly identified her as a member of press. Al Jazeera’s cameraman Ali al-Samoudi, who was standing near her along with a group of Palestinian journalists, was also shot in the back but recovered.

Speaking in front of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Tuesday, Abu Akleh’s brother Anton said that they would do whatever was necessary to ensure accountability for her killing.

“Like we said before, and like other reports said previously, there were more than 16 shots fired towards Shireen and the media and her colleagues who were standing in that ally,” Anton Abu Akleh said. “They even targeted the person who was trying to pull her into safety after she was shot down.”

He went on to say that the ‘Israeli’ occupation soldiers were able to identify who Abu Akleh was.

“She was in full gear, and she was clearly noted as press,” he added. “Any person shooting at the press is intentionally trying to kill them.”

According to Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, the ICC decided in 2021 that it has jurisdiction over violence and war crimes that have occurred in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“That’s why there is some hope here by Palestinian journalists and the government that there will be a start into the investigation here into these cases, including the case of Shireen Abu Akleh,” Vaessen said, speaking at The Hague in the Netherlands.

The complaint is supported by the Palestinian Press Syndicate and the International Federation of Journalists [JFJ].

In late May, Al Jazeera filed a case at the ICC to address the killing of Abu Akleh.

Abu Akleh was also a United States citizen, but President Joe Biden – who has snubbed the family’s request for a face-to-face meeting twice – and his administration have refused to conduct an independent investigation.

“It seems that the reason her case has not been a priority for the US government is because of who she was and who she was killed by,” Anton Abu Akleh said. “There is no mystery regarding what happened to Shireen except for the actual name and identity of her killer.”