Namibia, South Africa condemn ‘senseless’ killing of Al Jazeera journalist

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - The governments of Namibia and South Africa on Wednesday condemned the killing of a veteran Al Jazeera journalist who was shot dead while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank.

“The government of the republic of Namibia in the strongest terms condemns the senseless killing of the Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Abu Akleh, 51, was shot in the head while covering an Israeli raid in the city of Jenin on Wednesday morning. Another journalist, Ali Al-Samoudi, was shot in the back, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

“The targeting of journalists in the occupied territories, and in conflict zones like Ukraine and Afghanistan, appears to be part of a pattern of silencing the free press and is an outright contravention of international law,’’ said Zane Dangor, director-general of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).

South Africa called on governments to respect their commitment to press and media freedom by not harming journalists.

“The ability of journalists to cover events as they take place is essential, and efforts to intimidate and assassinate members of the media cannot be allowed to continue with impunity,” DIRCO said in a series of tweets.

Abu Akleh was born in Jerusalem in 1971 and earned a BA in journalism and media from Yarmouk University in Jordan. She worked as a reporter for the Arabic-language channel Al Jazeera for 25 years until she was killed.