Shireen Abu Akleh, killed Wednesday while covering clashes in the West Bank between the Israeli army and Palestinian gunmen, was a veteran journalist and among Arab media’s most prominent figures.
Abu Akleh, 51, was born in Jerusalem. Carrying both a Jerusalem residency card and an American passport, she began working for Al Jazeera in 1997 and regularly reported on camera from across Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
Her position as an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent in Jerusalem made her a household name and a familiar face for tens of millions of viewers around the Arab world.
Shireen Abu Akleh, killed Wednesday while covering clashes in the West Bank between the Israeli army and Palestinian gunmen, was a veteran journalist and among Arab media’s most prominent figures.
Abu Akleh, 51, was born in Jerusalem. Carrying both a Jerusalem residency card and an American passport, she began working for Al Jazeera in 1997 and regularly reported on camera from across Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
Her position as an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent in Jerusalem made her a household name and a familiar face for tens of millions of viewers around the Arab world.
“I chose to become a journalist to be close to people. It may not be easy to change reality, but I was at least able to bring their voice to the world,” Abu Akleh said in a video taped for the Qatari channel’s 25th anniversary.
She was born in East Jerusalem to a Palestinian Christian family. Her mother was born in West Jerusalem, before the creation of Israel in 1948, and her father was from Bethlehem, in the West Bank.