The bill is believed to be a heavy blow to supporters of Palestinian rights in Britain. Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian Christian, was shot execution style with a single bullet to her face. A funeral was held for the late journalist by the Palestinian community with priests overseeing her burial rites.
On 11 May, the British government announced plans to ban local councils and other public bodies from participating in boycott and divestment campaigns against Israel, at the same time when London has imposed broad boycotts and sanctions against Moscow.
The announcement came during a speech by the Queen of England on 10 May, delivered by Prince Charles on her behalf at the opening of Parliament.
The Prince said the government would “introduce legislation to prevent public bodies from engaging in boycotts that undermine community cohesion.”
The bill is seen as an attempt to silence the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which intents to pressure the Israeli government to end its occupation of Palestine.
According to Al Mayadeen, This is not the first time the Conservative Party attempted to pass legislation prohibiting public agencies from engaging with BDS organizations, but previous attempts to sign the bill into law were rejected by the Supreme Court, in part due to a lack of adequate legislation.
On the other hand, pro-Palestinian groups in the UK have condemned the bill and announced that they will oppose it.
Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, said: “Any anti-boycott laws are likely to stop public sector bodies from doing the right thing and disentangling themselves from human rights abuses.”
The Friends of Al Aqsa movement (FOA) said in a statement, “In the case of Palestine, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a peaceful movement calling on Israel to comply with international law and end the illegal occupation of Palestine.”
Since 2005, the BDS movement has sought to sanction all Israeli products manufactured on illegally occupied Palestinian land.
The human rights organization, Amnesty International, confirmed on 10 February, that Israel’s regime against all Palestinian people constitutes the crime of apartheid.
According to the BDS movement, ”The report is the latest in a series of studies confirming what Palestinian and international human rights experts and advocates have been saying for decades: Israel is perpetrating the crime of apartheid against the indigenous Palestinian people.”
Meanwhile, on the same day the British government announced plans to prohibit acts of boycott against Israel, Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Aqla Nasri, a renowned Palestinian-American journalist, was shot in the head by occupation troops in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.
Journalists were in the midst of covering the latest Israeli raid on Jenin when occupation troops opened fire on them.
Israel has been storming various cities in the West Bank after a series of retaliatory operations by Palestinians in the heart of occupied territories, such as Tel Aviv, Ariel, and Elad.
Jenin is seen as the heart of Palestinian armed resistance within the occupied West Bank.
‘Blatant Murder’: Al Jazeera Accuses Israel of Killing Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
In a statement, the Al Jazeera Media Network said that Abu Akleh—who worked as the publication’s Palestine correspondent—was wearing a press jacket that clearly identified her as a journalist when Israeli forces shot her “with live fire.”
Al Jazeera, which is based in Qatar, called the attack “a blatant murder,” saying Abu Akleh, 51, was “assassinated in cold blood.” Abu Akleh was an American citizen.
The statement continued:
Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty. Al Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen. It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing of Shireen.
The Israeli authorities are also responsible for the targeting of Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Samudi, who was also shot in the back while covering the same event, and he is currently undergoing treatment.
Al Jazeera extends its sincere condolences to the family of Shireen in Palestine, and to her extended family around the world, and we pledge to prosecute the perpetrators legally, no matter how hard they try to cover up their crime, and bring them to justice.
Footage from the scene shows the moments after Abu Akleh was shot.
(Warning: The video is disturbing)
Footage shows the moments of Al Jazeera’s senior reporter Shireen Abu Aqla’s death.
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) May 11, 2022
In appearance, Israeli footage that says there was a Palestinian cross fire doesn’t fit with this location.
She is also wearing a helmet and body armour. pic.twitter.com/fYCMQqxlxf
The Israeli government swiftly denied responsibility for killing Abu Akleh and wounding al-Samudi, claiming that they may have been shot by “Palestinian gunmen.”
“There is a considerable chance that armed Palestinians, who fired wildly, were the ones who brought about the journalist’s unfortunate death,” said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
But al-Samudi, speaking to the Associated Press following the incident, dismissed the Israeli government’s narrative as a “complete lie.”
“He said they were all wearing protective gear that clearly marked them as reporters, and they passed by Israeli troops so the soldiers would know that they were there,” AP reported. “He said a first shot missed them, then a second struck him, and a third killed Abu Akleh. He said there were no militants or other civilians in the area—only the reporters and the army.”
An outpouring of grief and tributes followed news of Abu Akleh’s killing.
Yousef Munayyer, a Palestinian-American political analyst, wrote on Twitter that “Shireen was one of the bravest, longest-standing Palestinian journos and an inspiration to so many Palestinians, especially young women in the field of journalism.”
In an interview, Abu Akleh’s friend and colleague Dalia Hatuqa said that Shireen “was there in every town, every Palestinian town, village, alleyway, refugee camp.”
“Everybody knew her name,” Hatuqa continued. “Everybody welcomed her. She wanted to do the stories that nobody else wanted to do. And she gave a voice to a lot of people who we otherwise wouldn’t have heard from.”
International condemnation, general strikes in wake of journalist’s murder by Israel
Following the murder of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla Nasri in occupied Palestine on the morning of 11 May, widespread condemnation and general strikes took place to mourn and express anger over her death.
The state of Qatar, which funds the Al-Jazeera Network, issued a strong condemnation against the actions of Israeli occupation forces through its foreign ministry, calling for an end to the threats posed to the lives of journalists.
Qatar Strongly Condemns Israeli Occupation Forces' Assassination of Al Jazeera's Correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) May 11, 2022
🔗 To read the full statement: https://t.co/62yhMTh4zP#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/l7g99lliR4
Despite wearing full press coverings and body armor, and being far away from any Palestinian armed resistance fighters, Abu Aqla was shot in the head by live ammunition in what was likely an intentional targeting of a weak point in her armor.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also condemned the murder, stating: “The crime of executing journalist Shireen Abu Aqla is a crime that must awaken all living consciences to expose and punish the occupation.”
General strikes in Jenin and Jerusalem were also announced by Palestinian workers and business owners.
Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah also condemned the murder in a statement, saying: “Shireen is the resistance media figure that didn’t spare any moment without covering the Zionist criminality against its people over the past 20 years.”
“Fellow Shireen’s martyrdom in midst of the scene emphasize the important and pivotal role of brave journalists in exposing the daily terrorist Israeli attacks, which the occupation attempts to cover up by restricting the work of journalists and media outlets,” the Hezbollah statement added.
Irish political party Sinn Fein issued a statement condemning the murder of Abu Aqla.
“Ms Abu Akleh was shot execution style with a single bullet to the face, which Al Jazeera claims was fired by an Israeli sniper. Another journalist was shot in the back by Israeli forces but remains in a stable condition. Both journalists were wearing clearly visible blue flak jackets that identified them as journalists. While Israeli forces claim that they came under attack, other journalists who were present have state unequivocally that Israeli forces were shooting to kill,” the Sinn Fein statement reads.
Despite the fact that the US and UK governments fund and support the Israeli occupation of Palestine, including the provisions of deadly armaments, the US and UK ambassadors to Israel stated that they were “saddened” by her death.
Neither referred to it as a murder, with the US ambassador referring to it as a “killing” and the UK ambassador referring to it as a “death.”
Meanwhile, western media such as The New York Times have referred to the Israeli raid on Jenin which Abu Aqla was covering as “clashes.”
A funeral was held for the late journalist by the Palestinian community. Priests oversaw her burial rites, as Abu Aqla was a Palestinian Christian.
Tragic scenes at Shereen Abu Aqleh's burial ceremony in Jenin, this morning. pic.twitter.com/uG3znrxSnu
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) May 11, 2022
