• Shireen Abu Akleh’s family has filed a formal complaint.
• They want to seek justice for their loved one’s murder.
• Abu Akleh worked for Al Jazeera for 25 years.

Shireen Abu Akleh’s family has filed a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to seek justice for their loved one’s murder.

As the “voice of Palestine,” Abu Akleh worked for Al Jazeera for 25 years. On May 11, she was killed by an Israeli bullet to the head while covering an army operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

She was easily identifiable as a journalist because to the flak jacket and helmet she was sporting. She was surrounded by a number of Palestinian journalists and Al Jazeera cameraman Ali al-Samoudi, who was also shot in the back but survived.

On Tuesday, Abu Akleh’s brother Anton stated that they will take whatever steps were necessary to guarantee that those responsible for her death would be held accountable.

There were more than 16 rounds fired against Shireen and the media as well as her colleagues who were standing in that ally, Anton Abu Akleh said. “Like we said before, and like other reports said previously,” he added. They even went after the individual who attempted to save her after she was shot down.

He continued by saying that Abu Akleh’s identity was known to the Israeli forces.

She was clearly identified as press since she was “in full gear,” he said. “Anyone who fires at the media is deliberately attempting to kill them.”

Step Vaessen of Al Jazeera claims that the ICC determined in 2021 that it has jurisdiction over crimes of violence and war committed in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Vaessen said, addressing at The Hague in the Netherlands, “That’s why there is some hope here by Palestinian journalists and the government that there will be a start into the investigation here into these cases, including the case of Shireen Abu Akleh.”

The Palestinian Press Syndicate and the International Federation of Journalists support the case (JFJ).

Former IFJ president Jim Boumhelha declared it to be a “historic day” for not only the family of Abu Akleh but also for Palestinian journalists who have been attacked by Israeli soldiers.

He told Al Jazeera, “We do expect that people within the prosecution will take very carefully the document that we have given them. We are simply going through the motions because this is only the initial stage.

Because there is no honest and reliable due process, according to Boumhelha, seeking justice for Palestinian journalists in Israeli courts has never been successful.

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