A mural of Al Jazeera’s slain journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh was inaugurated on Wednesday, August 30, in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
The municipality of Bethlehem unveiled the mural, saying that it was a tribute to Abu Akleh and her reporting on the cause of Palestinians.
In Bethlehem, the event was held on al-Mahd Street in the presence of Abu Akleh’s family, friends, and coworkers as well as government representatives.
Speakers at the event emphasised the need for justice for Abu Akleh, who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier on May 11, 2022, while she was reporting from Jenin.
The painting, according to Walid al-Omari, the head of Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau, sent a moral message.
Al-Omari stated, “We are grateful to the Bethlehem municipality for this work and we will keep following up on Shireen’s case in order to achieve justice.
Abu Akleh’s brother, Tony, was also present at the event and he echoed that message.
Tony said, “This mural is in memory of Shireen, especially in the city of Bethlehem, from where her origins come.” He further went on to explain the relationship between Shireen Abu Akleh and the “city of Christ”.
“This mural is not just for Shireen; it’s for every martyr who died at the hands of the Israeli occupation,” Tony added.
The mayor of Bethlehem, Hanna Hanania, stated that Abu Akleh stood for the cause of Palestinians, as well as Jerusalem city, where she was born and ultimately laid to rest and the Palestinian people as a whole since she was “a martyr of the truth” who promoted the cause of the Palestinian people to the rest of the world.
The death of the late Abu Akleh, a dual citizen of Palestine and the United States, attracted attention on a global scale.
Israel first attempted to paint the seasoned reporter, who had worked for Al Jazeera since 1997 and was well-known in the Arab world, as having been shot dead by Palestinian fighters.
Months after, Israel acknowledged that one of its soldiers most likely killed Abu Akleh, however characterised the incident as an accident. Al Jazeera later took the case to the International Criminal Court. However, no result has come of it so far.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Sayima Ahmad | 
