The Israeli military is not planning to investigate the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, according to an Israeli media report, leading her family to reiterate their call for a transparent probe into her shooting.
Tel Aviv, May 20 (RHC)-- The Israeli military is not planning to investigate the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, according to an Israeli media report, leading her family to reiterate their call for a transparent probe into her shooting.
Israel’s Military Police Criminal Investigation Division believes an investigation that treats Israeli soldiers as suspects will lead to opposition within Israeli society, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported on from Tel Aviv.
Abu Akleh, 51, was killed by an Israeli soldier last Wednesday, according to witnesses and colleagues who were present when she was shot while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
In response to the report, Abu Akleh’s family said they were not surprised by the Israeli military potentially not investigating her death. “We were expecting this from the Israeli side. That’s why we didn’t want them to participate in the investigation,” the family said in a statement to Al Jazeera. “We want to hold whoever is responsible for these acts accountable.”
“We urge the United States in particular – since she was a U.S. citizen – and the international community to open a just and transparent investigation and to put an end to the killings.”
The veteran reporter, who lived in occupied East Jerusalem, was a U.S. citizen. She spent nearly three decades covering the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
On the day she was killed, Abu Akleh was wearing a helmet and a vest clearly marked with the word “press”. She was hit in the back of the neck, in the small space between the helmet and the vest. Shots continued to be fired when colleagues and bystanders attempted to help Abu Akleh.
Previous investigations into the killings of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers have led to controversy within Israel – many Israelis believe soldiers should not be prosecuted for such acts.
