The Palestinian-American journalist from Al Jazeera was murdered on May 11 in the West Bank.
Ramallah:
An Al Jazeera journalist who was shot dead in the occupied West Bank earlier this month was murdered by an Israeli soldier in a “war crime,” the official Palestinian investigation concluded Thursday.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) and Al Jazeera have blamed Israeli forces for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh on the morning of May 11, when she reported on an Israeli army operation in the Jenin camp in the north of the West Bank. .
Israeli authorities have denied that Abu Akleh could have been killed by stray fire from a Palestinian gunman in the area or accidentally by an Israeli soldier.
All “proven facts constitute the elements of the felony murder … under national laws they are a war crime and a violation of international laws,” said PA Attorney General Akram Al-Khateeb, who presented the findings of the Palestinian investigation. .
The Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked “Press” and a helmet, was killed after being hit by a bullet just below her helmet.
The report said Abu Akleh was killed with a 5.56 millimeter armor-piercing bullet fired from a Ruger Mini-14 rifle.
The report also said bullet holes in a nearby tree indicated “targeting the upper parts of the body for the purpose of killing.”
“All these facts: the type of projectile, the weapon, the distance, the fact that there were no obstructions to her view and that she was wearing a press jacket led to the conclusion that (Shireen) Abu Akleh was the target of an assassination,” concluded Khateeb.
“The only source of fire was the Israeli occupation forces,” he said.
Senior PA official Hussein al-Sheikh said a copy of the report had been sent to US authorities, while copies would also be given to the families of Abu Akleh and Al Jazeera.
A DailyExpertNews report published this week that is disputed by Israel also pointed to a deliberate killing, citing the effects on the tree.
“The number of hits on the tree where Shireen was standing proves that this was not a random shot, she was the target,” Chris Cobb-Smith, an explosives expert, told the US News Network.
Israeli authorities were quick to dismiss the conclusions of the Palestinian report, with Defense Minister Benny Gantz saying the Israeli military would never target journalists.
“Any claim that the IDF is intentionally harming journalists or uninvolved civilians is a blatant lie,” he said in a statement, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces.
“Despite Israel repeatedly reaching out, the Palestinians are refusing to cooperate, raising the question of whether they really want to get to the truth,” he said.
The Palestinian authorities had refused to hand the bullet over to the Israeli authorities for further investigation, due to a lack of confidence.
Gantz also aired on DailyExpertNews on Thursday.
“Attempts to charge IDF soldiers with war crimes while promoting false assessments, such as those published by DailyExpertNews, undermine the ability to achieve peace and stability in the region, while ultimately fueling terrorism,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
