Israeli authorities have acknowledged the "high possibility" that Aljazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli soldiers, saying that the victim was "accidentally hit," but refused to charge any of the suspects involved, drawing widespread criticism.
The announcement drew ire from Palestinian officials, human rights campaigners, and the family of the victim. The Israeli army also said that it would not be launching a criminal investigation into the incident after releasing the results of its own inquiry on Monday.
Israel Acknowledges Killing of Journalist
The remarks came despite the fact that Al Jazeera Media Network and several other inquiries by leading human rights groups and media organizations have lent support to witness accounts that Abu Akleh was shot by an Israeli soldier.
The 51-year-old journalist was shot and killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The incident came despite Abu Akleh wearing a helmet and flak jacket clearly marked "PRESS."
Abu Akleh's family rejected the results of the Israeli investigation findings and said that they would continue to call on the United States government to carry out a "thorough, independent, and credible" investigation," as per Aljazeera.
The statement argued that Israel has tried to obscure the truth of the incident and avoid taking responsibility for the killing of Abu Akleh. It continued to say that the victim's family was not surprised by the outcome since it was obvious to anyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) said, "It 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."
According to CNN, the statement added that there was no suspicion of criminal offense that warrants the opening of an investigation. Officials said that the decision was based on the findings of the review, which determined that IDF soldiers only aimed fire at those who were identified as armed terrorists during the incident.
Alleged Misidentification
A senior IDF official said that troops did not know they were shooting at the press, arguing that Abu Akleh's back "probably" being turned to the soldiers was a contributing factor. The official said that when soldiers were firing in that direction, they were not aware that they were firing at journalists.
In May, an investigation discovered evidence, including two videos of the scene of the shooting, that there was no active combat in the area when Abu Akleh was fatally shot. There were not even any Palestinian militants near the journalist in the moments leading up to her death.
Jenin is considered a bastion of Palestinian militants and Israel has carried out raids in the area almost every night since a string of deadly attacks inside the region earlier this year. Some of the attacks were carried out by assailants from the area, CBS News reported.
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