Today, Monday, the Israeli army acknowledged for the first time that there was a “high possibility” that one of its soldiers killed Palestinian journalist Shirin Abu Akla last May.
The army said during a press briefing about its investigation into the killing of a prominent Al Jazeera reporter, “There is a high possibility that Abu Akila was accidentally hit by Israeli army fire targeting suspected Palestinian militants.”
Shirin Abu Akle was shot dead on 11 May while covering an Israeli military operation in the Jenin camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups in the north of the occupied West Bank.
Abu Akla was wearing a bulletproof vest with “press” written on it and a protective helmet when she was shot in the face from under the helmet.
This confession comes months after the army said it was impossible to determine the source of the fatal bullet that killed Shirin.
Commenting on Israel’s statement, the journalist’s family stated in English that Israel “refused to take responsibility for the murder” of Abu Akle.
The family called for a “credible” U.S. investigation, adding, “We are still hurt, frustrated and frustrated.”
After the murder of the journalist, the Palestinian Authority and the Qatari television channel Al Jazeera blamed the Israeli army for her murder. But Israel did not recognize this. After an initial investigation, it was reported that there was “an inability” to determine the source of the bullet. But after the incident, she spoke out about the possibility that the journalist was shot dead by Palestinian militants.
Today, the Israeli army released the “final findings” of the investigation.
A senior Israeli officer said during a briefing that Israeli soldiers came under heavy fire from the Jenin refugee camp. “When they shot at her, they didn’t know that she was a journalist, it was a mistake, they thought they were shooting at the terrorists who shot at them,” he added.
“We came to the conclusion that it is impossible to be absolutely sure which fire was destroyed. But there is a strong possibility that he was hit by a random bullet fired by an Israeli soldier who did not recognize her as a journalist,” he added.
But the New York Committee to Protect Journalists criticized the army’s report. Sherif Mansour, the committee’s program coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “The guilty plea is belated and incomplete. They did not name the killer Sherin Abu Akle and did not provide any information other than his testimony that the murder was a mistake.”
In turn, the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, which opposes the expansion of Israeli settlements, condemned the army’s report, calling it a “cover-up” of the crime. She added that the killing “wasn’t a mistake, it’s politics.”
Presenting the report’s findings, an Israeli officer said the soldier was about 200 meters away from her and did not see the word “press” on her jacket. The officer expressed “regret” to the soldier who shot Abu Akila and said, “I’m sorry about that too.” However, the serviceman “did not do it on purpose, it is quite obvious.”
The officer noted that the military studied the “sequence” of incidents, analyzed the location, video recordings and voices recorded during the incident, and conducted a “simulation of what happened.” Also, “Israeli experts” conducted a ballistic analysis of the bullet on July 2 in the presence of representatives of the “US Coordinating Committee for the Security of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”
He spoke of the “alla” of the bullet, and therefore it was “difficult” to determine its source.
For its part, Israel’s Attorney General’s Office announced on Monday that “there is no suspicion of a criminal act that would justify the opening of a criminal investigation by the military police.”
In July, an investigation by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded that Abu Akila had been killed by Israeli forces.
In June, the United Nations said there was “no evidence of Palestinian militant activity in the vicinity” of Abu Akle when she was shot.
The United States also conducted an investigation, which in turn concluded that the bullet that killed Shirin Abu Akle “probably” came from an Israeli website, noting that there was no evidence that her killing was premeditated.
Sherin Abu Akle’s family sought to meet with US President Joe Biden, who visited Israel and the Palestinian territories in July, expressing dissatisfaction with Washington’s inaction in her case.
But Biden did not meet with the family or mention it in statements made during the visit.
Later, Lina Abu Akle, the journalist’s niece, met in Washington with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and called for “responsibility and justice for Shirin.”
Lina confirmed that the Israeli authorities knew the name of the soldier who shot her aunt.
Thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem attended the funeral of Qatari journalist Al Jazeera on May 13, and her funeral was marked by violence from Israeli police who tried to prevent mourners from flying Palestinian flags. Abu Akila’s coffin nearly fell to the ground from mourners’ hands after they were beaten with batons by Israeli police, who arrested some of them.
The Israeli police later completed an internal investigation it had conducted into the arrangements for the funeral, without disclosing the results.
