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Camera operator Samer Abudaqa was killed while reporting at a school in the southern city of Khan Younis.
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Tag: Al-Jazeera
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Malaysia’s Ramadan bazaars draw crowds, but some tighten belts
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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – It is late afternoon in Kuala Lumpur and despite the oppressive heat, a crowd of people is wandering along a street lined with food stalls.
The air is filled with the aroma of barbecued chicken and fried fish as buyers – most of them ethnic Malay Muslims looking for food with which to break their Ramadan fast – search out their favourite foods.
The mood is festive even though this year’s prices are higher than usual. The country’s central bank said in February that while inflation was likely to moderate, it was likely to remain “elevated”.
“The rising cost of living impacts the affordability of food and other items sold at the bazaar. We see a significant increase in the price which leads to people being careful with their spending,” Aiedah Khalek, a senior lecturer at Monash University Malaysia and an expert in Muslim consumer behaviour, told Al Jazeera.
Ramadan bazaars can be found in almost every corner of Malaysia, which is mostly ethnic Malay but also has large minorities of ethnic Chinese, Indian and Indigenous people.
Many are drawn to the markets in the capital Kuala Lumpur, where they can also visit traditional shopping areas around Jalan Tuanku Abdul to buy new outfits in anticipation of Eid, known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri in Malaysia, which falls at the end of Ramadan.
Ramadan bazaars are popular with Malaysians of all ages and ethnicities [Bhavya Vemulapalli/Al Jazeera] The bazaars usually open in the early afternoon so people have time to buy their food ready for the breaking of fast at sunset.
Aiedah has been researching halal communal dining and its effect on the social cohesion of multi-religious communities.
“What makes the Ramadan bazaars special is that they offer different types of food, especially food that is rarely available outside the Ramadan month,” she said.
“Now we can see huge Ramadan bazaars, especially in the urban areas, unlike 20-25 years ago.”
Keeping prices down
With the high cost of living, this year some small traders have joined the government’s Rahmah Ramadan Bazaar initiative, which is designed to ensure food for buka puasa (the breaking of fast) is sold at reasonable prices.
Nur Mastura has a Menu Rahmah sticker at her stall, which means the price of the 13 types of rice cake she sells is capped at 10 Malaysian ringgit ($2.26) each.
“Ramadan bazaars are a way to celebrate so many cultural cuisines. I’ve been selling putu bambu, an Indonesian kueh (cake) at bazaars for four years now. People keep coming for the taste of it,” the 19-year-old told Al Jazeera.
She is studying for a diploma in banking but helps out on her family’s stall at the Masjid Jamek Ramadan bazaar in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.
Mastura selling her putu bambu. The traditional rice cake is filled with palm sugar, flavoured with pandan and steamed over bamboo coals [Bhavya Vemulapalli/Al Jazeera] Traditionally, Malaysians prefer to break their fast with dishes that will be gentle on their stomach following the long hours without food or water.
One such traditional dish is bubur lambuk, which is made by cooking the ingredients together in a single pot, translated as scattered porridge.
At most mosques, the dish is given out free of charge during Ramadan. The porridge is usually made with meat, onions, garlic, coconut oil and several spices like cinnamon sticks, fennel seeds, star anise, cloves and fenugreek.
“Everyone has their own secret recipe. It depends on the budget and ingredients,” said Saiful Azrul, as he and his brothers – all full-time hawkers – stir their porridge in large pots on the side of the road in preparation for the evening bazaars. “We enjoy cooking together and donating half of what we cook.”
They only sell bubur, which they start cooking in the morning, during Ramadan.
Saiful Azrul (left) and his brothers cooking three pots of bubur lambuk — one is for charity and the other two to sell [Bhavya Vemulapalli/Al Jazeera] Malaysian food is often spicy and melds styles and flavours from across the world.
“I was surprised by the large variety of food options as there was also some food I had never seen before in Malaysia,” said Anne Hilbert, a 23-year-old exchange student visiting Malaysia from a Dutch university. “I felt a strong feeling of community among the people at the bazaars.”
They have been sampling the Thai-style skewers made by Adlin Ahmad and her sister at a Ramadan bazaar along the river in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.
“My elder sister and I sell grilled skewers and noodle soup. Everyone comes together during Ramadan to sell their specialities,” said 29-year-old Adlin, who graduated from university in 2015 and now sells snacks for a living.
Adlin Ahmad (left) and her sister Awatif Ismail’sell their food at a Ramadan bazaar along the river in Kuala Lumpur. Usually, they sell their food in Bachok in northeastern Kelantan [Bhavya Vemulapalli/Al Jazeera] “We pay 600 Malaysian ringgit ($135) for the month to put up our stall,” the Ahmad sisters told Al Jazeera. “Due to the increase in raw material prices after COVID-19, the food prices increased as well.”
The higher prices have meant slower sales for some, adding to food waste, which was rising even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As well as bazaars, Ramadan in Malaysia also sees hotels and restaurants putting on sometimes lavish buka puasa buffets.
The amount of solid waste, including food, collected during Ramadan rose to 252,521 tonnes last year, compared with 208,143 tonnes in 2019, according to deputy local government development minister Akmal Nasrullah Nasir.
“The amount increases every year and in the past five years, we have seen an increase of up to 21 percent,” he told reporters after launching a Hari Raya event on April 10. Food made up 44.5 percent of the waste, he added.
Local vendors say they try to donate the leftovers so they do not have to throw away large quantities of food on a slow day. They are also more careful about the amount they make in the first place.
“Usually there aren’t a lot of leftovers as we got used to cooking correct quantities over the years. Snacks like ours stay fresh over a week. If not, I usually donate the rest at my brother’s school,” Adlin said.
The bazaars offer a dizzying amount of food choices [Bhavya Vemulapalli/Al Jazeera] By early evening, the bazaars are winding down as Malays head home to wait until the sunset prayer when they can start eating together.
The bazaars will operate until April 21, the eve of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
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What is in Al Jazeera dossier for the ICC on Abu Akleh’s killing?
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Testimonies in the dossier show that Israel’s killing of the reporter has led to widespread, crippling fear among Palestinian journalists about their safety.
The Hague, the Netherlands – A dossier submitted by Al Jazeera to the International Criminal Court (ICC) with a formal request to investigate the killing of veteran television correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh shows how her death unfolded and how it has had a “chilling effect” among Palestinian journalists, a lawyer for the global TV network says.
Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American correspondent with Al Jazeera for 25 years, was killed by Israeli forces on May 11 on a road in Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
The request received by the court on Tuesday includes statements from witnesses and their video footage, including new unseen footage, lawyer Rodney Dixon KC said.
The chronology produced from the evidence shows “the only firing that was going on” when Abu Akleh and her colleagues were on the road was “firing at the journalists”, Dixon explained.
Abu Akleh and her colleagues at the time were wearing protective helmets and jackets emblazoned with “PRESS”. The evidence produced by Al Jazeera counters claims by Israeli authorities that Abu Akleh was killed in a crossfire.
In September, it said there was a “high probability” an Israeli soldier “accidentally hit” the journalist but that it would not launch a criminal investigation.
The submission also includes cases of other Palestinian journalists who have been targeted by the Israeli authorities, including the bombing of Al Jazeera’s Gaza office in 2021.
“That’s all to show that this has been going on for some time and that Al Jazeera has been targeted generally,” said Dixon, who investigated the killing of Abu Akleh, compiled the evidence and submitted it to the ICC on behalf of Al Jazeera.
Another witness statement that the dossier includes is from Al Jazeera journalist Givara Budeiri. In 2021, Israeli police arrested and assaulted Budeiri and destroyed the equipment of Al Jazeera cameraman Nabil Mazzawi. They were covering a sit-in in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah to mark the 54th anniversary of the Naksa, the event in 1967 when Israel seized what remained of the Palestinian homeland.
“She was detained and beaten and tortured on the 5th of June 2021,” Dixon said.
“What we’ve emphasised in this submission is that those who were interrogating her kept saying that this is because you are with Al Jazeera,” he said.
‘Chilling effect’
Witness testimonies in the dossier point to fear among journalists and how such attacks are affecting Palestinian journalists’ ability to work on the ground, Dixon said.
Al Jazeera journalists who were interviewed highlight how Abu Akleh’s killing has had a “chilling effect” and has created concerns about how to go about their work safely.
The evidence shows that “Shireen was such a cautious journalist, always going to every measure to protect herself and others,” Dixon said. “And on the day they had taken all those measures. And the witnesses have consistently said that this was a shock – that they were suddenly fired on, directly.”
Previously, he explained, there was an unwritten code under which Israeli forces would tell journalists they were not welcome in an area or shoot tear gas or even warning shots.
The fact Abu Akleh’s killing happened “in a situation where they did not expect it at all has made people realise that they could be next”, Dixon said.
“So it’s completely new ground where they are deeply concerned there are no boundaries,” the lawyer said. “Wherever they go now, they could be fired at because this has happened once, and there have been no consequences.”
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Al Jazeera to submit Shireen Abu Akleh case to ICC, network says | CNN Business
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Jerusalem
CNN
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Al Jazeera said Tuesday it will submit a case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot in the head while covering an Israeli raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank in May.
“Al Jazeera’s legal team has conducted a full and detailed investigation into the case and unearthed new evidence based on several eyewitness accounts, the examination of multiple items of video footage, and forensic evidence pertaining to the case,” Al Jazeera said in a statement.
The network claims new evidence and video show the Palestinian-American journalist and her colleagues were directly fired at in a “deliberate killing” by what Al Jazeera called Israeli occupation forces, a claim which Israel has repeatedly denied.
Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid Tuesday repeated a long-standing rejection that any outside authority would investigate Israel Defense Forces troops.
“No one will investigate IDF soldiers and no one will preach to us about morals in warfare, certainly not Al Jazeera,” Lapid said.
The IDF referred CNN questions about the ICC case to the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which declined to comment.
In September, the IDF admitted there is a “high possibility” Abu Akleh was “accidentally” shot and killed by Israeli fire aimed at “suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen during an exchange of fire.”
The IDF said at the time the Israeli military did not intend to pursue criminal charges or prosecutions of any of the soldiers involved.
A CNN investigation published two weeks after Abu Akleh was killed suggested that the fatal shot came from a position where IDF troops are known to have been positioned. The pattern of gunfire on a tree behind where she was standing at the time suggested that the gunfire was targeted rather than indiscriminate, an expert told CNN.
The CNN investigation unearthed evidence — including two videos of the scene of the shooting — suggesting that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death.
She was wearing a flak jacket identifying her as press at the time she was killed.
Al Jazeera said Tuesday: “The claim by the Israeli authorities that Shireen was killed by mistake in an exchange of fire is completely unfounded. The evidence presented to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) confirms, without any doubt, that there was no firing in the area where Shireen was, other than the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) shooting directly at her.”
“The IOF inquiry that found there was no suspicion of any crime being committed is entirely undermined by the available evidence which has now been provided to the OTP. The evidence shows that this deliberate killing was part of a wider campaign to target and silence Al Jazeera,” the network added.
Abu Akleh’s family also submitted an official complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this year to demand justice for her death, Al Jazeera reported.
CNN has contacted the ICC to confirm if they received the case.
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Israel Defense Minister: US probes Shireen Abu Akleh killing
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JERUSALEM — Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday the U.S. Department of Justice has decided to investigate the fatal shooting of Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, condemning the probe as a “grave mistake” and vowing not to cooperate.
A Justice Department spokesman had no comment and there were no details about when an investigation might begin and what it would entail, nor what the ramifications of it might be. But an FBI probe into Israeli actions would be a rare, if not unprecedented, step.
An American investigation would follow months of pressure from Abu Akleh’s family and U.S. lawmakers disappointed with the inconclusive findings of a previous State Department assessment and Israeli military investigation into the death of the prominent correspondent last May. Abu Akleh’s supporters accuse Israel of intentionally killing the 51-year-old, and have urged Washington to open a full investigation.
But a probe risks straining the strong partnership between the U.S. and Israel at a time when Israel is bracing for the formation of its most right-wing government in history and as progressive Democrats in the U.S. have called for a more skeptical stance toward one of Washington’s closest allies. It would directly challenge Israel’s claims that it properly holds its soldiers to account for their actions in the Palestinian territories.
Gantz lambasted what he described as a decision to open a U.S. Justice Department probe into Abu Akleh’s killing, saying on Twitter that Israel has made it clear to the U.S. that it “won’t cooperate with any external investigation.”
“We will not allow interference in Israel’s internal affairs,” he added. Gantz, who is set to leave his post following elections earlier this month that vaulted Israel’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to power, served as defense minister when Abu Akleh was killed.
A Palestinian from Jerusalem who covered Israeli operations in the occupied West Bank for a quarter century, Abu Akleh was a household name among many Arabs in the Middle East. Her death sparked outrage across the world, throwing a spotlight on Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.
Palestinian officials, Abu Akleh’s family and Al Jazeera accuse Israel of intentionally targeting the veteran reporter. She was wearing a helmet and a protective vest marked with the word “press” when she was shot while covering an Israeli military raid in the Jenin refugee camp.
In September, Israel acknowledged for the first time that Israeli fire probably killed Abu Akleh. But the military stopped short of accepting responsibility for her death, vigorously denying allegations that a soldier targeted her and refusing to criminally investigate those involved.
An earlier assessment from the State Department also determined that the bullet that killed Abu Akleh was likely fired from an Israeli military position but was too damaged to say with certainty.
A series of independent investigations by the United Nations and international media outlets, including by The Associated Press, found that Israeli troops most likely fired the fatal bullet.
Palestinian Foreign Ministry officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Monday about the U.S probe. A spokeswoman for outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid declined to comment, and former Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is expected to return to lead the country in the coming weeks, also had no immediate comment.
Abu Akleh’s brother, Tony Abu Akleh, told Al Jazeera the family was optimistic about reports of a U.S. investigation, saying it’s “very important to hold those responsible accountable and prevent similar crimes.”
“We hope this will be a turning point in the investigation into Shireen’s death,” he said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations welcomed the reported probe, expressing hope “our nation will finally hold Israel accountable for its violence targeting American citizens, journalists and other civilians.”
It is not unusual for the FBI or other U.S. investigators to mount probes into non-natural deaths or injuries of American citizens abroad, particularly if they are government employees. However, such separate investigations are not the rule and it is exceedingly rare for them to occur in a U.S.-allied country like Israel that is recognized in Washington as having a credible and independent judicial system.
Human rights groups have long accused the Israeli military of failing to properly investigate wrongdoing by its own troops and seldom holding forces accountable. Israel contends its investigations are independent and professional.
Abu Akleh was shot while reporting on an Israeli military raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, long a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s escalating nightly arrest operations, launched following a spate of Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the spring that killed 19 people, have been concentrated in Jenin and nearby areas.
More than 130 Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank have been killed this year, making 2022 the deadliest year since 2006. Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but local youth protesting the raids as well as people not involved in the fighting have also been killed. Increasing Israeli incursions have prompted a series of Palestinian shooting attacks that have killed at least four Israelis in recent weeks.
Reports of a U.S. probe come after long-serving Netanyahu secured a return to power in Israel’s national elections. He is in the midst of talks with his ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist allies to form a coalition and is expected to cobble together Israel’s most right-wing government in history.
The government, which is expected to see extremist lawmakers appointed to key ministries, has prompted concern among Israel’s allies, including the U.S.
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Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.
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Israel confirms US is investigating the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, says it will ‘not cooperate’
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Israel confirms US is investigating the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, says it will ‘not cooperate’
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