Occupied Palestine – Israeli occupation army has called recent probes accusing it of the shooting death of Al Jazeera’s veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh “biased investigations.”
In a statement, the Israeli occupation forces have responded to recent reports accusing it of killing the Palestinian-American journalist on May 22, the latest probe was conducted by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The occupation forces said in the statement: “Following the biased investigations that have been presented in recent days, the IDF once again reiterates its call to the Palestinians to share access to the bullet with which the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed.”
“The Palestinian Authority cooperates with Israel on investigations from time to time. The Palestinians’ refusal to transfer the bullet and hold a joint investigation with American representation is telling of their motives.”
“It should be noted that this was an operational event during which an exchange of fire occurred between IDF soldiers and Palestinian gunmen during counterterrorism activities in Jenin,” added the statement.
The statement continued: “Ever since the incident, the IDF has been investigating and reviewing the circumstances of Ms Abu Akleh’s death. The IDF investigation clearly concludes that Ms Abu Akleh was not intentionally shot by an IDF soldier and that it is not possible to determine whether she was killed by a Palestinian gunman shooting indiscriminately in her area or inadvertently by an IDF soldier.”
51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the head while she was covering an Israeli military raid into the Jenin refugee camp despite wearing a press vest on May 11, sparking international outrage and calls for accountability for attacks on journalists. The slain journalist covered events and Israeli aggressions in the occupied Palestinian territory for 25 years.
Multiple witnesses said that Israeli forces killed the veteran journalist. Reports by the investigative group Bellingcat, The Associated Press, CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times have also come to the same conclusion.
On June 24, the UN’s OHCHR announced that information it had gathered showed that the bullets that killed Abu Akleh were fired by Israeli forces.
Spokesperson for the UN’s OHCHR, Ravina Shamdasani, told reporters in Geneva, “All information we have gathered is consistent with the finding that the shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians.”
Shamdasani added that the information the OHCHR had gathered had revealed no “activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists”.
Shamdasani noted that the OHCHR’s investigation had shown that Abu Akleh and her fellow journalists had made a concerted effort to be visible as members of the press to Israeli occupation soldiers positioned further down the street.
“The journalists said they chose a side street for their approach to avoid the location of armed Palestinians inside the camp and that they proceeded slowly in order to make their presence visible to the Israeli forces deployed down the street,” Shamdasani said.
“Our findings indicate that no warnings were issued and no shooting was taking place at that time and at that location.”
“Several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them [the journalists] from the direction of the Israeli security forces.”
Shamdasani added that bullets continued to be fired at an unarmed man who tried to come to Abu Akleh’s aid, as well as a journalist who was sheltering behind a tree.
The OHCHR head Michelle Bachelet also continued to urge Israeli occupation authorities to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing, according to Shamdasani.
Shamdasani also pointed out that Israeli occupation forces have killed 58 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 13 children, since the start of this year, adding that “international human rights law requires prompt, thorough, transparent, independent and impartial investigation into all use of force resulting in death or serious injury. Perpetrators must be held to account.”
The CNN investigation in May said evidence suggests that the veteran journalist was killed in a “targeted attack by Israeli forces”.
Al Jazeera Media Network also announced on May 26 that it had assigned a legal team to refer the killing to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
A probe by the Palestinian Authority found that Abu Akleh was deliberately shot by Israeli forces.
