The Israeli military has admitted that veteran Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was “accidentally” killed by the regime’s gunfire in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in May, saying, however, that it will open no criminal investigation into the brutal assassination.
Faraan: The acknowledgement came on Monday after a final Israeli investigation concluded that there was a “high possibility” the Al Jazeera journalist had been shot dead by an Israeli soldier who mistook her for an armed Palestinian. “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,” the Israeli probe said.
The report claimed that she could have been shot by Palestinian gunfire even though all independent investigations on the shooting have totally dispelled the allegation. The Israeli army also announced that it had decided not to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing as there was no suspicion of a criminal offense that would justify the opening of a military police investigation.
Wearing press attire, the 51-year-old journalist was murdered in cold blood while covering an Israeli military raid in Jenin on May 11. Later, her funeral was also attacked by the regime forces. Abu Akleh’s tragic death sent shock waves across the region, drawing global condemnation. The United Nations and the European Union, among others, called for a full investigation into what has been described as a deliberate murder “in cold blood.”
The family of slain Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has renewed calls for an independent probe into her cold-blooded murder.
‘Israeli report an attempt to evade responsibility’. Reacting to Monday’s Israeli admission, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas slammed the report on the killing of Abu Akleh as a new Israeli attempt to evade responsibility for her murder.
