Wednesday 11 May 2022 10:59 PM Thousands of Palestinians chant in support of Al Jazeera journalist who was ... trends now

Thousands of Palestinians tonight chanted in support of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was shot dead while covering a raid in Israel's West Bank on Wednesday morning.

Her was body carried through the city of Ramallah, with thousands chanting 'thank you, dear Shireen', as calls mounted for an independent investigation into the killing of the veteran journalist.

Pictures showed a huge crowd gathered in the city as Abu Akleh's body, draped in a Palestinian flag', was carried ahead of a full state memorial for her Palestinian presidential compound that is organised for tomorrow.

Abu Akleh, 51, who was a Christian and well-known Palestinian television personality with American citizenship, was killed during a raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday.

Amid conflicting reports, Al Jazeera put the blame for her death at the feet of Israel's security force, the IDF. The IDF, meanwhile, blamed Palestinian gunfire.

The Qatar-based broadcaster said she was shot 'deliberately' and 'in cold blood' by Israeli troops while wearing a press vest and helmet. Al Jazeera said in a statement that 'the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera's correspondent in Palestine'.

In a statement on its channel, it called on the international community to 'condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for deliberately targeting and assassinating our colleague, Shireen Abu Akleh.'

Meanwhile, the IDF said it is 'investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.' 'She may have been shot by Palestinians,' IDF spokesperson Ran Kochav said. 'She was very close to them. But if soldiers were responsible, we will have to apologise if a mistake was made.'

Israel's Defence Minister Benny Gantz appeared to distance himself from earlier remarks by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who had said it was 'likely' that Abu Akleh was killed by stray Palestinian gunfire.

'Our initial findings from the investigation cannot indicate what gunfire was directed at Shireen and cannot exclude any option under this operational chaos', Gantz said, briefing reporters late on Wednesday.

He said Palestinian gunmen in Jenin were firing from 'multiple directions. We are not certain how she was killed,' Gantz added, adding that Abu Akleh's death was a 'a serious loss.'

Another Palestinian journalist, Ali Al Samoudi, working for the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper, was wounded but in stable condition, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Samudi later said no Palestinian fighters were nearby, stressing that otherwise 'we would not have gone into the area'. 

The European Union urged an 'independent' investigation while the United States' envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, demanded the killing be 'transparently investigated', calls also made by UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet.

Israel has offered to participate in a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority, and Gantz urged the PA to provide the army with the bullet that killed Abu Akleh.

Gantz told reporters that Israel was seeking the findings of the Palestinian autopsy, conducted in Nablus earlier Wednesday.

There was no indication on whether Palestinian officials were prepared to cooperate with Israel in an investigation.

Rayyan Ali, a forensic pathologist at Al Najah University in Nablus where the autopsy was conducted, told reporters 'it is not possible to make any statement about who bears responsibility,' because details of the weapon and ammunition used had not been fully examined by experts.

Abu Akleh, who joined Al Jazeera in 1997 and whose coverage of the conflict was revered across Palestinian society, will receive a full state memorial at the Palestinian presidential compound in Ramallah on Thursday.

Her was body carried through the city on Wednesday evening, with thousands chanting 'thank you, dear Shireen.'

The Israeli army has stepped up operations in Jenin, a historic flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in recent weeks. Several of the suspects blamed for deadly attacks on Israelis were from the area.

Witnesses in Jenin said that the Israeli army had been targeting the home of an Islamist operative, with an apartment's heavy metal door blown off its hinges.

Majid Awais, a witness, told AFP that Abu Akleh 'turned in panic' when she saw her colleague Samudi was shot, and that she was struck by the fatal bullet moments later.

An AFP photographer reported that Israeli forces were firing in the area, and that he then saw Abu Akleh's body lying on the ground, with no Palestinian gunmen visible at the time.