Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Matt Carthy TD, speaking on the anniversary of the execution of veteran American-Palestinian journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, reiterated the position of the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists who described the killing as part of a ‘deadly, decades-long pattern’ on the part of the Israeli state.

Shireen was shot in the face by an Israeli military sniper on May 11th 2022, despite the fact that she was wearing a blue vest, clearly identifying her as a member of the press.  Her colleague, who was wounded in the attack, remained under sustained gunfire from Israeli forces for some time after the death of Shireen.  

Teachta Carthy said:

“I believe that Shireen was killed to silence her voice, a voice that fearlessly reported on the oppression and harassment visited upon the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation authorities.

“The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court establishes that the intentional directing of attacks against civilians who are not engaged in hostilities, which includes journalists, is a war crime.

“Shireen’s brutal murder further amounted to a breach of the Geneva Conventions as well as a United Nations Security Council Resolution on the protection of journalists.

“There have been 20 journalists killed by Israel since 2001.  It points to a blatant disregard on the part of Israel for the lives of journalists risking their lives to report from conflict zones.

“On the first anniversary of Shireen’s callous murder, I join the calls from her family, friends and colleagues who have renewed the demand for justice in her case.

“As long as Israel continues to blatantly ignore international law, including through its hostility towards journalists, that state should not receive the preferential treatment it enjoys from many players in the international community, including from the EU.”