The Israeli navy stated on Monday that there was a “high possibility” {that a} soldier killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May.
“There is a high possibility that Ms. Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated in an announcement printed on Monday about an inner investigation of her loss of life.
Abu Akleh was killed whereas protecting an Israeli navy operation at a refugee camp within the metropolis of Jenin within the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinians blamed Israel for the killing, however Israel initially stated the journalist might need been killed by militant hearth, and later that it was not possible to find out who had fired the lethal shot. Palestinian accounts and people from different journalists on the scene argued from the beginning that it was clear which aspect had shot Abu Akleh.
A memorial on the web site the place the veteran tv correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was killed on May 11, 2022, in Jenin, West Bank, May 25, 2022. (Samar Hazboun/the New York Times)
Now the Israeli investigation, which included interviews with troopers, evaluation of the scene in addition to audio and video recordings, discovered a soldier might have hit her by mistake throughout an change of fireside.
“Our conclusion is that it’s not possible to determine unequivocally which gunfire killed her, but there’s a higher probability that she was hit by an errant shot of an IDF soldier who did not identify her as a journalist,” a senior Israeli navy officer stated.
No soldier to be charged
The IDF stated its troops got here beneath heavy hearth from all sides and had fired again, together with in direction of the realm the place Abu Akleh was standing.
Other witness accounts of the incident have disputed that Israeli positions had been beneath hearth from the realm the place the journalists had been.
Colleagues and pals react because the Palestinian flag-draped physique of veteran Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is dropped at the information channel’s workplace within the West Bank metropolis of Ramallah, May 11, 2022. (AP)
But the IDF says its investigation confirmed that troopers had acted based on their guidelines of engagement and stated nobody could be charged.
Abu Akleh’s household criticized the investigation, saying the navy “tried to obscure the truth and avoid responsibility” for the killing.
Ali Samoudi, a longtime Al Jazeera producer who woke his colleague Shireen Abu Akleh to induce her to go to the scene of a gunbattle, in Jenin, West Bank, May 23, 2022. (Samar Hazboun/the New York Times)
“Our family is not surprised by this outcome since it’s obvious to anyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. However, we remain deeply hurt, frustrated and disappointed,” they stated in an announcement.
Shatha Hanaysha, a contract journalist who hid by a wall behind a tree when the capturing started that killed the veteran tv correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, in Jenin, West Bank, June 1, 2022. (Samar Hazboun/the New York Times)
Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist, was a longtime correspondent for the Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, and was famend for her reporting within the Middle East.
Her loss of life sparked outrage and condemnation. She was carrying a bulletproof vest marked “Press” and a helmet when she was shot within the head on May 11. Her colleague Ali Samoudi was additionally wounded.
Tensions heightened additional when video footage of Israeli safety forces attacking the pallbearers carrying Abu Akleh’s coffin at her funeral went viral days after her loss of life.
Abu Akleh’s household push for ICC probe
Monday’s announcement by the Israeli navy, practically 4 months after the killing, largely align with these of a number of unbiased investigations accomplished earlier.
Sleem Awad, left, a bystander who was taking video when the gunfire erupted that killed the veteran tv correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, together with his mom and brother at their dwelling in a refugee camp in Jenin, West Bank, May 25, 2022. (Samar Hazboun/the New York Times)
A report from the US State Department in July concluded that she was in all probability killed by hearth from an Israeli place.
A report from the United Nations human rights workplace in June stated she was clearly identifiable as a journalist when she was shot and killed by a single bullet.
Abu Akleh’s household reiterated their name for an unbiased US investigation and a probe by the International Criminal Court.
