The Israeli military revealed the long-awaited findings of its investigation into the fatal shooting of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on Monday, concluding that there was a “high probability” that an Israeli soldier accidentally shot and killed her last May during a raid in the occupied West Bank.
This was Israel’s closest approach to taking responsibility for the shooting. However, in a report that seemed to raise as many concerns as it answered, the military did not provide any fresh evidence to support its assertion that the Palestinian-American journalist may have been slain by Palestinian gunmen during a battle between Israel troops and Palestinian gunmen. Additionally, it was said that no one will be penalized for the shooting.
The conclusions were unlikely to resolve a problem that has exacerbated Israel and Palestinians’ already severely strained relations. Palestinian officials and Abu Akleh’s family charged the army with dodging responsibility for her death.
A photo posted by Al Jazeera without a date depicts journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. On the morning of May 11, 2022, she was shot and died while covering an Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Al Jazeera via AP
“This outcome does not surprise our family, as it is apparent that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. Nonetheless, we continue to be terribly wounded, upset, and disappointed “In a statement, her family reported that she had died.
On May 11, Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist, was assassinated while documenting an Israeli operation in the northern West Bank refugee camp of Jenin. She had covered the West Bank for Al Jazeera for twenty years and was recognized throughout the Arab world.
A senior Israeli military officer told reporters that there was a “very strong possibility” that Abu Akleh was accidentally shot by an Israeli soldier in an armored vehicle who thought he was targeting a jihadist.
“He misidentified her,” the officer said, speaking anonymously in accordance with military briefing regulations. His real-time reports unequivocally indicate a misidentification.
“We know he fired, but it’s possible that this was caused by other fire,” he continued.
Jenin is renowned as a stronghold of Palestinian terrorists, and Israel has conducted operations there nearly every night since a wave of deadly attacks inside Israel earlier this year, some of which were perpetrated by attackers from the area.
Before Abu Akleh was shot, according to the military officer, the soldiers had been under continuous fire from numerous directions for about an hour. On that day, the army released multiple films depicting Palestinian militants firing automatic weapons and soldiers coming under fire.
However, the military did not present any evidence to substantiate their assertion that Abu Akleh was shot during a heated gunbattle. There was no evidence of militants in the area, as evidenced by amateur footage and witness statements, and the neighborhood was silent for several minutes before she was shot.
Furthermore, it was unclear how Abu Akleh, who was wearing a press-marked helmet and vest at the time, could have been mistaken for a terrorist. The official stated only that the soldier’s visibility from inside the car was “extremely limited,” resulting in Abu Akleh’s misidentification.
He stated that the probe’s results had been forwarded to the chief military prosecutor, who was happy with them and opted against launching a criminal investigation. This indicates that no one will be held accountable for her death.
On July 6, 2022, Palestinian artist Takiyuddin Sebatin paints a portrait of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on the partition wall in the West Bank, in anticipation of President Joe Biden’s visit to Bethlehem. Hisham K. K. Abu Shaqra/Anadolu Agency courtesy of Getty Images
Critics have long alleged that the military investigates misconduct by its troops inadequately. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem accused the army of conducting a “whitewash,” whilst Abu Akleh’s family and the Palestinian Authority demanded that the case be transferred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The International Criminal Court has begun an inquiry into suspected Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.
The spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, denounced the news as “another Israeli attempt to avoid responsibility for her death.”
All evidence indicates that Israel is guilty for Shireen’s death, and it must be held accountable for its crime, he stated.
The Palestinian Authority, Abu Akleh’s family, and Al Jazeera have accused Israel of murdering Abu Akleh on purpose, while a series of investigations by foreign media organizations, including The Associated Press, have concluded that Israeli troops most likely fired the fatal bullet. The United States found that she was likely murdered by accident by an Israeli soldier, but did not explain how it reached this decision.
Walid Al-Omari, the head of Al Jazeera’s local bureau, stated that Monday’s article was “obviously an attempt to dodge the initiation of a criminal probe.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists described Israeli findings as “late and insufficient.”
Sherif Mansour, the group’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, stated, “They offered no identification for Shireen Abu Akleh’s killer and no other information than his or her own testimony that the murder was an accident.” “By any measure of transparency or accountability, this does not deliver the answers that her family and coworkers deserve.”
The family of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh demands justice in Washington at 07:39
Israel has stated in the past that she was killed during a difficult struggle with Palestinian militants and that only a forensic examination of the bullet could determine whether it was fired by an Israeli soldier or a Palestinian militant. However, a bullet investigation done by the United States in July of last year was inconclusive, as experts reported that the bullet was severely damaged.
Tom Nides, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, declined to comment at a news conference when asked about the inquiry.
The reconstruction of Abu Akleh’s death by the Associated Press added credence to witness allegations that she was murdered by Israeli forces. CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, as well as the office of the U.N. human rights head, conducted follow-up investigations that yielded similar findings.
Abu Akleh rose to prominence in the 1990s during the second Palestinian uprising against Israeli control, or intifada. She captured for Arab viewers the brutal realities of life under Israeli military control, now well into its sixth decade with no end in sight.
When they beat mourners and pallbearers at her funeral in Jerusalem, Israeli police garnered considerable criticism from around the globe. An Israeli daily reported that a police inquiry revealed misbehavior on the part of some of its officers, but that those who oversaw the event will not be penalized severely.
Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Middle Eastern War and subsequently established settlements where about 500,000 Israelis and almost 3 million Palestinians coexist. The Palestinians desire that the territory constitute the majority of a future state.
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