CPJ report on Israeli military killings of journalists ahead of 1-year anniversary of Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder

Today is the one-year anniversary of the killing of Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, who was fatally shot while reporting on an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. Ahead of this anniversary, CPJ released a new special report, “Deadly Pattern: 20 journalists died by Israeli military fire in 22 years. No one has been held accountable.”

Over 22 years, CPJ has documented at least 20 journalist killings by members of the Israel Defense Forces. Despite numerous IDF probes, no one has ever been charged or held responsible for these deaths. The impunity in these cases has severely undermined the freedom of the press, leaving the rights of journalists in precarity and undermining coverage of the region.

“The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and the failure of the army’s investigative process to hold anyone responsible is not a one-off event,” said CPJ Director of Special Projects Robert Mahoney, who also wrote a column in Israeli newspaper Haaretz about the report.

A CPJ delegation launched the report at a press conference in Tel Aviv on May 9, and hosted a panel discussion on the report in Ramallah the following day.

🔖 Dive deeper: How Israel probes journalist killings and A deadly reporting field for Palestinian journalists

🔎 Explore the faces of the killed journalists and our interactive map

📌 Consider CPJ’s recommendations to Israel, the United States, and the international community

🎥 Watch the Tel Aviv report launch

Separately, on May 10, CPJ published a look into how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party are facing one of the toughest challenges of their two decades in office. Turkey Representative Özgür Öğret spoke with journalists in the country about how the elections could affect the press freedom environment.

CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists)