Palestinians mark Nakba Day amid outrage over killing of Shireen Abu Akleh
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A Palestinian woman marking Nakba Day holds a poster of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Photo: Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Palestinians on Sunday rallied across the occupied Palestinian territories to mark the day of the Nakba, or "catastrophe," which commemorates the displacement of hundreds of thousands Palestinians during the events that led to Israel's founding in 1948.
The big picture: In addition to Palestinian flags and the keys that have come to symbolize the day, some carried posters calling for justice for Palestinian American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed Wednesday while covering an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
- Palestinians, Al Jazeera and journalists who witnessed her death say she was killed by Israeli gunfire.
- The Israeli military said Friday that it's impossible to know from whose fire Abu Akleh was killed without a ballistic examination of the piece of the bullet that was removed from her body.
The latest: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Abu Akleh's family on Saturday "to express his deep condolences for their loss," a State Department official said.
- Blinken "also noted Abu Akleh’s journalistic body of work and the importance of a free and independent press. He offered continued support of the State Department team in Jerusalem to their family."
- Abu Akleh's brother, Tony, told local media that Blinken promised that the administration is pushing for a serious investigation and is monitoring closely the probes being conducted by the Israelis and Palestinians.
In photos:
Go deeper: Israeli police beat Palestinian mourners at Shireen Abu Akleh funeral
