13 July 2022; MEMO: As US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on the first leg of his Middle East tour, the Palestinian Media Forum organised an event on the ruins of the destroyed Al-Jalaa Tower in Gaza City, to demand justice for Palestinian-American journalist Sherine Abu Akleh, and calling to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for her assassination.
In his speech, Forum Director Muhammad Yassin called for justice for Abu Akleh, adding that the Israeli occupation deliberately targets Palestinian journalists, and warned of the danger of this crime passing without the occupation being held accountable.
In turn, the head of the Government Information Office, Salama Maarouf, said that the results of the American investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh are biased towards the occupation."The American administration gives a lifeline to the Israeli occupation to evade the assassination of our colleague Shireen,"Maarouf said.
He called for putting pressure on the occupation to allow the entry of safety equipment for Palestinian journalists into the Gaza Strip, which has been banned from entry for nearly 15 years.
Israel assassinated Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on 11 May while she was covering the occupation army's storming of Jenin refugee camp. The 51-year-old was wearing a flak jacket clearly displaying the word "Press" and had a helmet on, but was still shot in the head by an Israeli sniper. Her colleagues were also shot at as they tried to rescue her.
Pallbearers at her funeral were also beaten with batons as Israel Police crackdown on her funeral procession as it travelled through occupied East Jerusalem.
