Hawzah News Agency – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed strong condemnation of the assassination of Al-Jazeera correspondent, Shireen Abu Akleh, in the Palestinian territories, stressing that this crime constituted a blatant violation of international laws and norms and required immediate investigation and holding those responsible to account.

The OIC stressed that the Israeli occupation forces’ targeting of Abu Akleh while on duty reporting facts and documenting crimes committed against the Palestinian people, came in the context of the Israeli violations of press and media freedom, as part of its policy aimed at blocking the truth, muzzling the press, covering up its daily violations, and withholding such information from the world public opinion.

The OIC held Israel, the occupying power, fully responsible for this heinous crime, and called on the relevant international institutions to take immediate action to ensure justice and provide the necessary protection for journalists and media professionals working in the occupied Palestinian territory in accordance with international humanitarian law and relevant international conventions.