The Israeli military has finally released the results of its inquiry into the May 11 killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and it is now admitting that there’s a “high possibility” that the bullet came from an IDF soldier.
“[I]t appears that it is not possible to unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire which hit and killed Ms. Abu Akleh. However, there is a high possibility that Ms. Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen during an exchange of fire,” said the IDF in a statement.
Israel also said that they will not press criminal charges against the solider responsible. “After a comprehensive examination of the incident, and based on all the findings presented, the Military Advocate General determined that under the circumstances of the incident, despite the dire result..there was no suspicion of a criminal offense that warrants the opening of an MPCID investigation,” reads a separate statement from the IDF’s Military Advocate General’s Office.
The State Department issued a statement welcoming the Israeli report and accepting its conclusion that the killing was accidental. It urged “accountability” in the case in a very narrow manner: “such as policies and procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
Shortly after the killing the Israeli government suggested that Abu Akleh had died amid dueling gunfire between the IDF and Palestinian militants until this was disproved by video footage, eyewitness testimony, and multiple media investigations. However, a senior IDF official who briefed journalists before the report was released continued to push this narrative.
“It is our estimate that there were militants in the vicinity of Ms. Abu Akleh. Maybe not one meter beside her but they were in that area,” he said. He provided no support for this claim.
Abu Akleh’s family put out a statement condemning the Israeli report and reiterating their demand for the Biden administration to take meaningful action. “Our family is not surprised by this outcome since it’s obvious to anyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes,” it reads. “However, we remain deeply hurt, frustrated, and disappointed.”
The Jerusalem-based human rights group B’Tselem also denounced the report. “It’s not an investigation, it’s whitewash; it was no mistake, it’s policy,” reads their statement. “Enormous public and international pressure was needed to make Israel spurt a faint confession that one of its soldiers had killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, while at the same time shaking off any responsibility for her death.”
“The killing of Abu Akleh is the predictable result of Israel’s outrageous open fire policy in the Occupied Territories,” it continues. “This policy claims more and more victims while the whitewash continues undisturbed.”
Palestinian Presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh called the report, “another Israeli attempt to escape the responsibility for Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing.”
The Biden administration has faced growing pressure over its position on the killing. While it has repeatedly called for transparency and accountability, it has not wavered from its claim that Israel is able to conduct such a probe on its own. Yesterday’s statement accepting Israel’s investigation suggests that the State Department thinks the matter is now done-and-dusted. It has rejected calls for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Abu Akleh’s death. “We believe that the ICC should maintain its focus on its core mission, and that core mission is to serve as a court of last resort in punishing and deterring atrocity crimes,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price in May.
In June, 24 Democratic Senators sent Biden a letter demanding action. The move came shortly after 57 Democratic House members sent a similar letter. In July lawmakers from both both chambers held a press conference, alongside Abu Akleh’s family, outside the U.S. capitol. “An American journalist was killed abroad by a foreign army, by a sniper,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told attendees. “This situation demands a thorough and objective investigation.”
Axios recently reported that the Biden administration is pressuring Israel to review its “rules of engagement” during military operations in the illegally-occupied West Bank. “U.S. pressure for Israel to review the guidelines is unusual, but comes as the Biden administration faces pressure to do more to ensure accountability in Abu Akleh’s death,” wrote Barak Ravid.
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“The investigators reject outright the possibility that the soldier knew his target was a journalist & intentionally chose to shoot her. The chief military prosecutor, Brig. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, had previously concluded this, & does not believe that the newest findings warrant opening a military police investigation. She concluded that there are no grounds for suspecting that a crime was committed.
“The investigators, & likewise the chief military prosecutor, have left open the slim chance that the journalist was, in fact, hit by Palestinian fire. An analysis of ranges, lines of sight & video & audio evidence recorded during the exchange of fire all point to the soldier in question, but they do not entirely discount the other scenario.
“The bullet that was taken out of Abu Akleh, which was handed over by the Palestinians for U.S.-Israel examination after lengthy negotiations, didn’t resolve the mystery. A ballistic examination did not yield conclusive results due to the condition of the bullet itself. In any case, no steps will be taken, criminal or disciplinary, against those in the IDF who were involved in the incident.
“There is a wide gap in the IDF findings as they were presented to the media on Monday & the many investigations undertaken by the media itself, including that of Al-Jazeera, for which Abu Akleh worked, & several other leading global outlets. All of them pointed the finger at Israel, without any reservations, as responsible for Abu Akleh’s death.
“The IDF conducted an in-depth & comprehensive probe, relying on technology not entirely available to the media. Still, we can assume that there will be lingering doubts. Israel won’t win any points in the international arena, even after releasing its findings. The fundamental asymmetry works against it: An army operates in Jenin as an invading force amid a civilian population, & a journalist is killed while doing her job – & she holds U.S. citizenship. There’s no way to spin this story to allow the IDF to come out looking good.
“On the other side of the scale, there’s the domestic Israeli response. When the first reports of Abu Akleh’s death emerged, many politicians & even many in the Israeli media suffered a serious bout of self-righteousness. It couldn’t possibly be, they claimed, that the blood is on our hands – & if this blood was spilled, then so what?…”
Has Israel turned over any investigation other than the conclusion? It has been obvious for some time now that they have followed the policy of lie first, confuse second, deny accountability and lastly say accidents happen when he/she was shooting at Palestinians. (even though all say none were around). The IDF know exactly who fired the weapon. Will they turn him over to others for interrogation? Will they at least make public the interrogation of the person responsible? Was it just some trigger happy jerk who shot her or were there orders to fire? There are so many question and they have probably all been answered, but we have no clue. The impunity continues without the US uttering no more than a whimper. Sad.
If this were a Palestinian shooting an Israeli reporter all hell would be leashed upon the Palestinians. Homes demolished, people killed and arrested, and retaliations taken. No doubt.
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https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-09-05/ty-article/.highlight/israels-admission-in-abu-akleh-probe-wont-win-it-any-points-on-the-international-stage/00000183-0e19-dce7-a79f-ee5d68f00000
“Israel’s Admission in Abu Akleh Probe Won’t Win It Any Points on the International Stage”
“The fundamental asymmetry works against Israel: An army operates as an invading force amid a civilian population, & a journalist with American citizenship is killed while doing her job.” Amos Harel, Haaretz, Sept .5/2022
“It took almost four months, but on Monday the Israel Defense Forces issued its conclusions about the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, which appear to be as reasonable as they would have been were they published the day after the tragedy.
“The army admitted that it was highly probable that the Palestinian journalist was killed by Israeli fire. Investigations showed that a short time before the shooting, Abu Akleh had been working close to an area where shots had been fired at a convoy of Israeli military vehicles that were entering Jenin as part of an arrest operation. A soldier from the Duvdevan special forces unit reported that he had spotted the armed man who had shot at the convoy, opened fire on him at a range of 200 meters (656 feet) &, so it appears, hit Abu Akleh instead.
“The soldier used a high-precision rifle that included a telescopic sight. He was sitting inside an armored personnel carrier & was observing the scene through a small gap. The soldier’s field of vision was limited & he was operating in an area in which Palestinian gunmen directed relatively heavy fire at the IDF. The soldier fired, according to a series of IDF investigations, based on mistaken identity: He didn’t miss his target; he thought he had the correct one in his sights. That is how he reported it over the radio both before & after the event.
“The results were tragic. But the error itself, says the soldier’s chain of command as well as the military prosecutor, wasn’t unusual, given the circumstances. Things like that are liable to happen under fire. Journalists & bystanders have been wounded & killed in the past in the Palestinian territories & in other conflict zones around the world under similar circumstances.” (cont’d)
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Of course no one will be charged – that would equate to admitting fault. Frigging cowards…
In Israel killing journalist seems to be a sport. 45 since 2000. How many journalist has Israel killed since its creation in 1948? Has to be way up there in numbers.
.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/12/infographic-the-journalists-killed-by-israeli-forces-since-2000