Ramallah – The General Secretariat of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate decided on Wednesday to launch a media campaign to urge the International Criminal Court to expedite the criminal procedures against Israel over the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May of last year.

The decision, taken in coordination with the International Federation of Journalists, will involve reaching out to press federations and unions, as well as international human rights organizations, to build sustained pressure for accountability. 

The General Secretariat noted the urgency of such a move in light of further attacks on journalists. Just last week, Palestinian journalist Moamen Sumreen was seriously injured after Israeli forces shot him in the head with rubber bullet during a raid in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Rabih Al-Munir, a press photographer, was also wounded by a shot to the abdomen.

Another journalist, Bilal Al-Tamimi, was attacked by occupation forces in a separate incident in the town of Nabi Saleh. 

Despite international outcry over the Abu Akleh's killing during an Israeli army raid in Jenin, nobody has been brought to justice. Abu Akleh was clearly marked as press and stationed far from the military's position, several eyewitnesses detailed at the time, while several international investigations have corroborated that she was likely killed deliberately.