Who is Shireen Abu Akleh? Profile of the Al Jazeera journalist who was fatally shot while reporting in West Bank

Israeli forces shot and killed Shireen Abu Akleh, a senior Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent during an army raid on Wednesday in Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Qatar-based news channel and the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Wearing a press vest, Palestinian Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was shot in the head during her coverage of the incursion and was transferred to Ibn Sina hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Another journalist named Ali Asmoadi, who works for the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper, was also wounded by a gun shot and is in a stable condition.

Middle East Eye reporter Shatha Hanaysha said she and a group of six journalists, including Abu Akleh, were together when they came under fire by Israeli snipers and that there was no fighting in the area.

Who was Shireen Abu Akleh?

Shireen Abu Akleh (1971 – 11 May 2022) was a Palestinian journalist.

She worked as a reporter for the Arabic-language channel of Al Jazeera for 25 years before she was killed on 11 May 2022 while covering a raid on Jenin by the Israel Defense Forces.

Abu Akleh was born in 1971 in Jerusalem; her family were Christians from Bethlehem.

She attended secondary school in Beit Hanina, then matriculated at the Jordan University of Science and Technology to study architecture; she later transferred to Yarmouk University from which she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in print journalism.

After graduating, Abu Akleh returned to Palestine.

Abu Akleh worked as a journalist for Radio Monte Carlo and Voice of Palestine.

She additionally worked for the UNRWA, Amman Satellite Channel, and MIFTAH.

In 1997, she began working as a journalist for Al Jazeera,becoming well-known as a reporter on their Arabic-language channel.

She lived and worked in East Jerusalem, reporting on all major events related to Palestine including the Second Intifada, and additionally covering Israeli politics.

She often reported on funerals for Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

Abu Akleh continued in her role with Al Jazeera until she was killed by Israeli forces in 2022.