The israeli military forces concluded that there is a “high probability” that one of their soldiers killed the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqla.
The veteran reporter Al-Jazeera He was shot in the head while covering a raid in the West Bank in May.
The main legal spokesman for the Israeli military also ruled out a criminal investigation against the soldiers involvedwhich would effectively end the investigation of the case.
Abu Aqla’s family said they were “not surprised” that the Israeli armed forces were trying to hide the truth and avoid responsibility for the journalist’s death.
Abu Aqla arrived at the Jenin refugee camp on May 11 to cover a raid by the Israeli army, in which there was an exchange of fire between soldiers and Palestinian militants. He was wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest marked with the word “press”.
different versions
The military’s account of how the journalist died has been the subject of recriminations.
Palestinian witnesses and agents reported that the journalist had been shot by Israeli forces, a conclusion that United Nations and different journalistic investigations supported after reviewing the evidence. A US investigation also found that it was “likely” that the lethal bullet had been fired by Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that they had completed different investigations.
A senior IDF agent said there was a “high probability” that she had been shot “in the wrong way and of course she was not identified as a journalist”.
He also revealed that investigators had spoken to the soldier involved: “He told us what he did, and if he did it, he did it by mistake.”
“I want to emphasize the combat environment these soldiers were under. They were confined to a protected vehicle, with fire coming from all directions,” the officer said.
contradictions
However, video evidence from the incident in which Abu Aqla was shot does not support the claims that militants were shooting at the point where journalists and others who were at the scene had gathered.
Asked about the footage by the BBC, the senior IDF officer said the soldiers were under fire and could not see what was happening from inside their jeep, adding that they could not see the journalists standing by. they had gathered.
The lack of one investigation criminal it will anger the Palestinians and is seen as a further blow to the family of Abu Aqla.
“It is obvious to anyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. We remain deeply hurt, frustrated and disappointed,” the journalist’s family said.
Human rights groups, both in Israel and in the Palestinian territories, have criticized the IDF’s mechanism for internal investigations, arguing that it gives soldiers near-absolute immunity when it comes to harming Palestinians.
The IDF had been intensifying its search, arrest and punitive demolition raids on homes in West Bank after a wave of attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs on the streets of Israel, which left 18 dead. An Israeli soldier was shot dead in Jenin in May.
Israeli officials, including then Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, initially claimed that Abu Aqla had probably been shot by armed palestinians.
As pressure mounted for a transparent investigation, the IDF later said that firing by Israeli soldiers was one of two possible explanations for his death; the other being fire by Palestinian militants.
Shireen Abu Aqla
The 51-year-old correspondent was admired by Palestinians, and the Arab world in general, after three decades covering the region. Her death received global attention and became a symbol of the often unreported dangers civilians face during Israeli military incursions.
This year, the journalist’s family called for full responsibility to be taken for the incident, which included a criminal investigation. Her brother, Tony, told the BBC in July that it was “an extrajudicial killing”.
Doubts quickly arose about the investigation.
During the hours that followed his death, speculation was circulated by Israeli agents wrongly suggesting that Palestinian gunmen may have shot him, including videos of the Jenin camp at a different location from his murder.
Meanwhile, the IDF accused Palestinian agents of obstructing the investigation, demanding that they return the bullet that could determine whether their troops had fired the fatal shot. In response, the Palestinians argued that the Israelis could not be trusted.
A Palestinian investigation based on an autopsy and examination of the bullet revealed that “the only source of fire was the occupation forces [israelíes]with intent to kill.”
There were also calls for the US government to get involved.
In May, dozens of lawmakers signed a letter to the FBI and the State Department demanding a formal investigation.
The US State Department pressured the Palestinians to hand over the bullet. That was in July, but the US government said a forensic analysis conducted by “independent investigators” had been unable to reach a definitive conclusion because the bullet was in such poor condition.
The US described his death as the result of “tragic consequences during an IDF-led military intervention,” adding that there was “no reason to believe” the shooting was intentional.
The journalist’s brother told the BBC that the family had been “abandoned” by the US government when President Joe Biden visited the region in July. He urged FBI investigators to travel to the area to investigate the murder.
The family then met with the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenin Washingtonbut said the government had not yet “relevantly responded” to his calls for justice.
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-62698113, IMPORTING DATE: 2022-09-05 19:10:06
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