The Israeli Defence Forces on Monday conceded for the first time that one of its soldiers had likely shot Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh after having mistaken her for a militant.
The veteran Al Jazeera correspondent was shot in the head while covering a raid in the occupied West Bank in May. It is the closest the military has come to admitting responsibility.
"[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," the IDF said in a statement.
But the Israeli military does not intend to pursue criminal charges or prosecutions of any of the soldiers involved, IDF's Military Advocate General's Office said Monday in a separate statement.
"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 -- the death of Ms. Abu Akleh and Mr. Samudi's injury -- there was no suspicion of a criminal offense that warrants the opening of an MPCID investigation," the statement said.
Abu Akleh's producer Ali al-Samoudi was wounded in the incident.
A dangerous job
The IDF had been intensifying its search, arrest and punitive home demolition raids in the West Bank after a wave of attacks carried out by Palestinians and Arab Israelis on the streets of Israel which killed 18 people. Some of the perpetrators came from Jenin. An Israeli officer was shot dead in Jenin later in May.
Israeli officials, including then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, initially claimed Abu Aqla was probably shot by Palestinian gunmen.
As pressure grew for a transparent investigation, the IDF later said that fire from Israeli soldiers was one of two "possibilities" accounting for her death, the other being fire from Palestinian militants.
The 51-year-old correspondent was admired by Palestinians and the wider Arab world for three decades of coverage from the region. Her killing gained global attention and became a symbol of the often under-reported dangers faced by civilians during Israeli military incursions.
Reporter's family rejects Israeli investigation
In a statement, Abu Akleh’s family rejected the results of the Israeli investigation findings and said it would continue to call on the US government to carry out a “thorough, independent, and credible” investigation.
Israel tried to “obscure the truth and avoid responsibility for killing Shireen Abu Akleh”, the statement read.
“As expected, Israel has refused to take responsibility for murdering Shireen. Our family is not surprised by this outcome since it’s obvious to anyone the Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. However, we remain deeply hurt, frustrated, and disappointed,” the statement added.
“We will continue to demand that the US government follow through with its stated commitments to accountability.”
