Palestinian Authority forces kill journalist in Jenin, family says

Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces have killed a young female journalist in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, her family said on Sunday. 

Shatha al-Sabbagh, 21, died from gunshot wounds to the head, the Jenin Governmental hospital said late on Saturday. 

Her family accused Palestinian security service snipers of shooting her near her home in Jenin, where the PA has been conducting a deadly crackdown since early December against anti-Israel armed groups. 

Sabbagh became the sixth Jenin resident to be killed during the PA campaign, including an unarmed 19-year-old citizen. 

At least five members of the Palestinian security forces have also been killed in exchanges of fire.

“We hold the Palestinian Authority and its security services directly responsible for this crime,” Sabbagh’s family said in a statement. 

“This dangerous escalation shows that these agencies have become repressive tools practising terrorism against their people, instead of protecting their dignity and confronting the Israeli occupation,” they added. 

Palestinian security services spokesman Anwar Rajab denied the accusation, saying the journalist was killed by “the outlaws” in the Jenin refugee camp. 

He said that preliminary investigations and eyewitness testimonies indicated no PA security forces were present at the scene.

Snipers on roofs

However, residents of the Mahyoub neighbourhood in the Jenin refugee camp, where Sabbagh lived, say that Palestinian security forces have been deployed there since 14 December, with snipers positioned on the roofs of several homes.

The family said Sabbagh was with her mother and carrying young children when she was shot. 

They said she was in a well-lit neighbourhood, with no ongoing clashes or security threats in the area. 

‘It was clear that she was a woman with children. Despite this, the sniper targeted her head the moment she left the door of the house’

– Musab al-Sabbagh, slain journalist’s brother 

Despite this, she was “deliberately targeted” by a PA sniper, they said.

Musab al-Sabbagh, the slain journalist’s brother, told Middle East Eye that Shatha was with her nephews at a neighbour’s house on the top floor shortly before her death. 

She went with them, a three-year-old and a 15-month-old in her arms, to a nearby shop to buy them sweets. 

“It was clear that she was a woman with children. Despite this, the sniper targeted her head the moment she left the door of the house,” Musab explained.

He said he heard screams followed by heavy gunfire as his sister fell to the ground. His mother, who was behind her, could not free the children because of the intensive and indiscriminate shooting and had to drag them to safety.

The shooting continued for around 15 minutes. A paramedic, living nearby, attempted to treat Shatha, but was also injured by the gunfire, Musab said.

Calls for accountability

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate mourned Sabbagh and called for the formation of an independent investigation committee to determine the truth about her death and hold those responsible accountable.

Raya Arouq, a Palestinian journalist from Jenin, expressed the shock felt by journalists after the killing. 

“Her death will not deter us from continuing our work, but rather increases our determination to continue documenting the situation,” Arouq told MEE. 

Hamas condemned the killing, calling it a “criminal act” and accusing the PA security services of intentionally killing the journalist. 

The group also urged the PA to stop its security operation in Jenin and hold those responsible to account. 

Sabbagh’s death follows the killing of her brother, Moatasem al-Sabbagh, by the Israeli army in March 2023 within the Jenin refugee camp.

The young journalist was active on social media, documenting the hardships faced by the residents of Jenin, particularly during the Israeli incursions and the PA’s security campaign.