Fadel Shana'a (; 27 March 1984 – 16 April 2008) was a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

journalist working as a

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...

for

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

. He was killed, along with eight bystanders (aged 12 to 20) by a

flechette A flechette or flèchette ( ) is a pointed, fin-stabilized steel projectile. The name comes from French (from \''wikt:flèche, flèche''), meaning "little arrow" or "Dart (missile), dart", and sometimes retains the grave accent in English: flè ...

shell fired by an

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

in an attack referred to as the 2008 Bureij killings.

Life and career

Shana'a was born on 27 March 1984 in

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war. Before the 14th century, Khan Y ...

, a city in the southern

of Palestine. After graduating from Al-Aqsa University in the field of

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

, he later attended

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt. In August 2006, while working as a

for

, Shana'a received minor injuries when the armored media vehicle he was riding was targeted by an Israeli helicopter's missile. An investigation was called for by David Schlesinger, the then-

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

for Reuters.

Killing

On 16 April 2008, nearly two years after being injured, Shana'a was killed along with eight bystanders between the ages of 12 and 20 by a

shell fired by an Israeli

as part of the Al Bureij killings. His death was confirmed by medical examiners the following day. Shana'a's video footage shows the tank firing and a glimpse of the incoming shell before going black at the moment of impact. Schlesinger again called for an investigation, as did

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

, whose Middle East director stated that "Israeli soldiers did not make sure they were aiming at a military target before firing, and there is evidence suggesting they actually targeted the journalists." The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights denounced the killing as a deliberate

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

. The

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF) released a statement saying: "The IDF wishes to emphasize that unlike terrorist organizations, not only does it not deliberately target uninvolved civilians, it also uses means to avoid such incidents... Reports claiming the opposite are false and misleading." On 13 August 2008, it was reported that the IDF had closed an investigation into the death of Shana'a without taking disciplinary action against the tank crew that killed him. In a letter sent to Reuters, then Chief

Military Advocate General The Military Advocate General (MAG Corps') (, ''HaPraklitut HaTzva'it'') is responsible for implementing the rule of law within the Israel Defense Forces. The unit's objectives include integrating the rule of law amongst IDF commanders and soldie ...

, Avichai Mandelblit, said: "In light of the reasonable conclusion reached by the tank crew and its superiors, that the characters were hostile and were carrying an object most likely to be a weapon, the decision to fire at the targets ... was sound." David Schlesinger said: "I'm extremely disappointed that this report condones a disproportionate use of deadly force in a situation the army itself admitted had not been analysed clearly." He added: "They would appear to take the view that any raising of a camera into position could garner a deadly response." In a statement issued at its London headquarters, Reuters said the army probe could effectively give soldiers a "free hand to kill", without being sure of the identity of their targets. Shana's funeral was held in Gaza and was attended by thousands of people.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shana'a, Fadel Assassinated Palestinian journalists 21st-century Palestinian journalists Journalists killed while covering the Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1984 births 2008 deaths Filmed killings Journalists killed in Palestine Murdered Palestinian journalists Journalists killed by Israeli security forces Al-Azhar University alumni Reuters people Palestinian war correspondents

Life and career

Killing

See also

References

External links