As of: 05/26/2022 8:09 p.m
The Palestinians now know that reporter Abu Akle was killed by a bullet from Israeli soldiers. Israel sharply rejects this and again calls for a joint investigation. Al Jazeera wants to bring the case before the International Criminal Court.
The Palestinian Attorney General has blamed Israel for the targeted killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shirin Abu Akle. The reporter died two weeks ago during an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the northern West Bank. Her death and police violence at her funeral in Jerusalem had caused international consternation.
Attorney General Akram Chatib told reporters that an investigation into the fatal bullet found it was fired by a sniper with a Ruger rifle. The bullet came from the direction of the Israeli soldiers. Further bullet holes in a tree showed that the upper body of the 51-year-old had been shot at. This shows a clear intent to kill, Chatib said.
Objection from Israel
Israel’s defense minister, Benny Gantz, dismissed this as a lie. Israel regrets the journalist’s death and the army is investigating the incident to find out the truth. According to the army, it is not clear where the fatal shot came from.
Only ballistic analysis of the bullet, which is in Palestinian Authority custody, and the soldiers’ weapons can determine who fired the fatal shot. However, the Palestinian leadership had rejected Israel’s request for a joint investigation.
Israel’s military chief Aviv Kohawi said it was impossible to say who fired the bullet. He again called on the Palestinians to cooperate. One thing, however, can be said with certainty: “No soldier intentionally fired on a journalist. We investigated it. We checked it. That is the conclusion. There is no other.”
From the Israeli point of view, two scenarios are possible: either Abu Akle was hit by Palestinian extremists who fired on an Israeli military convoy, or by Israeli shots aimed at an extremist nearby. The military has located the rifle that may have been used in this case, but need the bullet for a definitive statement.
Sender wants before the ICC
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera announced that it would hand over the case to the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The broadcaster’s legal department wants to create a file for this together with international legal experts.
Reporter wore a hard hat and vest
Abu Akle was shot in the head on May 11 while covering Israeli military action in the occupied West Bank. Abu Akleh was wearing a hard hat and vest that clearly identified her as a press officer.
A wave of terror has killed 18 people in Israel since March, and Palestinians shot dead an Israeli security guard and a soldier in the West Bank. Several assassins came from the Jenin area. The city is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians. For weeks, the Israeli army has been conducting raids there and in other parts of the West Bank.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 30 Palestinians have been killed since the end of March. Some of them were killed during military operations, but also in their own attacks or in clashes with the army.