Long-awaited report on death of Al Jazeera journalist says troops misidentified the targets of their shots as Palestinian gunmen; criminal probe will not be opened
The military on Monday said there was a “high probability” an Israeli soldier accidentally killed veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh nearly four months ago, based on its investigation into the incident.
The 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked “Press” and a helmet, was killed during clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen while covering an Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on May 11.
The Israel Defense Forces initially blamed Palestinian gunmen for the shooting, but later acknowledged that Abu Akleh could also have been killed by Israeli soldiers.
On Monday, a military official told reporters that a soldier had been identified who had “with very high likelihood” shot the journalist by mistake.
“He misidentified her. His reports in real-time point to a misidentification,” the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Based on the final findings of its probe, the IDF said it was still “not possible to unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire” that killed Abu Akleh, but that “there is a high probability that Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen during an exchange of fire in which life-threatening, widespread and indiscriminate shots were fired toward IDF soldiers.”
The IDF said Abu Akleh was not identified by troops at any point during the operation in Jenin, and troops had not intentionally fired at her, or any other civilians in the area.
However, several independent media investigations have said there were no armed Palestinians in the vicinity of Abu Akleh and other journalists she was with when they came under gunfire, which also wounded another reporter.
A criminal investigation will not be opened, the army said Monday, as the Military Advocate General said in there was no suspicion of any criminal offenses in the case, meaning neither the soldier nor anyone in his chain of command would face punishment.
Abu Akleh was highly respected in the Arab world for her decades covering Palestinians and other Arab communities.
Her family criticized the investigation, saying on Monday that the army “tried to obscure the truth and avoid responsibility” for the killing.
“Our family is not surprised by this outcome since it’s obvious to anyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. However, we remain deeply hurt, frustrated and disappointed,” the family said in a statement. It also reiterated its call for an independent US investigation and a probe by the International Criminal Court.
The IDF had repeatedly rejected independent media investigations, some of which claimed she was deliberately targeted, and called the probes “biased.”
The Palestinian Authority said its investigation proved that Abu Akleh was intentionally targeted and killed by the IDF during the raid.
The IDF also previously said it could not conclusively say who shot her until it got the bullet, which the PA refused to hand over for several months. The eventual examination of the bullet was inconclusive.
The publication of the findings by the IDF on Monday came following reported pressure by the United States, including during a recent visit by US Assistant Secretary Barbara Leaf.
Leaf was in Israel and the West Bank from Thursday to Saturday for a low-profile visit that included meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials. The State Department said Leaf was in the region “to discuss a range of priorities,” which included “US interest in improving the quality of life for the Palestinian people.” Few details emerged from her visit, though she reportedly told Israeli officials that Washington was troubled by escalating violence in the West Bank.
As reported by The Times of Israel