Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Killing the Truth: No justice for murdered journalist


Rami Almeghari writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 25 August 2008

"The Israeli military advocate-general stated in a 12 August letter to the Reuters news agency that it had found Israeli soldiers had acted properly in the April killing of Fadel Shana'a, a 23-year-old Palestinian journalist in Gaza working as a cameraman for the Reuters news agency. On 16 April Shana'a was killed by a shell fired from an Israeli tank while filming near the Juhor al-Dik village in the central Gaza Strip where there had been Israeli attacks earlier that day.

Two children who were nearby were also killed by the tank shell, and a second shell killed a 22-year-old civilian. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, a total of 13 unarmed Palestinian civilians, including eight children, were killed in the area of Juhor al-Dik that day and an additional 32 civilians, including 17 children, were injured by Israeli fire.

The advocate-general's decision sparked criticism by journalists and human rights groups in Gaza and around the world, who feared that the decision would allow more Israeli soldiers to harm Palestinian and other journalists in the field. Israeli forces have killed several journalists throughout the Gaza Strip and West Bank since the beginning of the second Palestinian intifada in September 2000......"

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