Iran, Qatar Rap Israeli Killing of Al Jazeera Reporter

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani held a meeting in Tehran on Thursday.

The two top diplomats condemned the brutal killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Qatari television channel’s correspondent, by the Zionist regime.

They attributed the continuation of the acts of terror and atrocities by the Zionist regime to lack of serious action on the part of the international and human rights organizations and also to their double standards regarding human rights abuses in Palestine, including the targeted killing of journalists, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Qatar also noted that Abu Akleh was wearing a journalist vest when she was martyred. They added that the cold-blooded act by the Zionist regime shows that Israel is opposed to freedom of speech and is seeking to cover up truth and its terrorist crimes in Palestine.

In the meeting, Amirabdollahian offered condolences over the martyrdom of Abu Akleh to her family, the resistant people of Palestine, the Christian community there, and the media outlets.

The senior Iranian diplomat also handed over a memorial plaque to the Qatari foreign minister to give it to Abu Akleh’s family in Palestine.

Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on May 11. The 51-year-old was covering an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp when she was shot in the face by a single bullet, despite wearing a press vest.

Another Palestinian journalist, Ali al-Samoudi, was wounded in the back but is in stable condition.

Al Jazeera, in a statement, said Abu Akleh was “assassinated in cold blood” and called on the international community to hold Israeli forces responsible.