​The body of Shireen Abu Akleh, shot dead by an Israeli sharpshooter.  ​​

Ramallah, May 13 (RHC)-- Palestinians have held a state funeral in Ramallah for Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, after she was fatally shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid on a refugee camp in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. 

Witnesses, including other journalists at Al Jazeera, said she was shot dead by Israeli forces.  At the time of her death, she was wearing a helmet and a vest clearly marked “Press.” 

Shireen Abu Akleh, who was a U.S. citizen, had worked at Al Jazeera for 25 years and was one of the best-known television journalists in Palestine and the Arab world. 

Israel initially claimed she may have been shot by a Palestinian gunman, but later said it was unclear who shot her.  Palestinian authorities accused Israel of committing the “crime of execution” and rejected an offer from Israel to carry out a joint probe into her death. 

On Wednesday, Ala’ Salameh, the head of the Palestinian Media Association, spoke out against the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and other Palestinian journalists.

Ala’ Salameh said: “Our protest today confirms that the occupation must be pursued, to pursue the Israeli leaders and war criminals who were involved in these crimes, the crimes which led to the death of those journalists, and their last was the journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.”