recognizes the “high probability” that the Palestinian reporter was “accidentally” fired, but will not investigate
Four months later, the IDF admits for the first time that there is a “high probability” that one of its soldiers was the one who “accidentally” shot and killed American-Palestinian reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, but will not open a criminal investigation. and insists that they are “very proud” of the soldiers’ role. In the words of the report prepared by the military attorney general “after a thorough investigation of the incident and based on all the findings, there is no suspicion of a crime that justifies the opening of an investigation by the Marechaussee.”
This is the closest we can get to an admission of guilt for what happened on the part of the military, but they continue to open up an issue that all the organizations that have investigated it are clear about. The 51-year-old ‘Al Jazeera’ journalist was shot dead on May 11 while reporting on an operation by the occupation forces in the Jenin refugee camp. Abu Akleh was perfectly identified as a journalist, wearing a vest and helmet, but that wasn’t enough.
In June, the United Nations concluded that “the shots that killed Abu Akleh and wounded his colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians.” The study by the international organization echoed the same result of the investigations conducted by media outlets such as “The Washington Post” or “The New York Times”: all indicate that the Israeli army is responsible for the gunshot that ended the killing. Shireen’s life. .
The reporter’s family responded immediately. “It is clear to everyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. We remain deeply hurt, frustrated and disappointed,” they said in a statement accusing the Jewish state of “hiding the truth” in order to “take responsibility for the avoid murder.” There will be no criminal investigation and no sanctions imposed on the officers responsible for the excessive violence at the journalist’s funeral in Jerusalem, who have even charged those who carried the body on their shoulders.
Israel initially blamed Palestinian militias for the shooting and released a video that turned out to be false. Later they talked about a stray bullet and little by little admitted that it could be one of their soldiers, but without ever clearly accepting responsibility, a common communication strategy as happened recently in Gaza with a bombing that ended the lives of various minors. However, the witnesses present at the place of death and the family have maintained the same version of events from the first moment.
The projectile that killed Shireen was of a 5.56mm caliber, the same used by the Israeli Defense Forces M4 rifles. The Palestinians handed the bullet to the United States to advance the investigation, and the Washington report ended with the same words the military now has, assuring it was “probably” killed by an “accidental” Israeli shot. The Palestinians accused the Americans of “manipulators” and the head of the Palestinian office of ‘Al Jazeera’, Walid al-Omari, recalled that “the bullet is not the only evidence, there is other evidence, witnesses, the location of the wounds, the remains of the bullets, also the investigations that were conducted. They all condemn Israel in this crime, and the US attempt to prove Israel’s innocence has failed.”
Source: La Verdad
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