Tel Aviv, Sept. 6, (dpa/GNA) - There is a “high possibility” that the fatal shooting of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank nearly four months ago was due to errant gunfire by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), internal investigations found.
“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 in which life-threatening, widespread and indiscriminate shots were fired toward IDF soldiers,” a senior army official said on Monday after the investigations were concluded.
However, the prominent Palestinian-American journalist was not identified as a member of the media at any point, the army official said.
Abu Akleh was killed on May 11 during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank while on assignment with the Arabic television channel.
There had been a fierce firefight with dozens of Palestinian militants during an Israeli raid in the town of Jenin.
According to Israel, the shots fired could not be clearly attributed to an individual even after the investigations were completed. No criminal investigation is to be launched.
The military prosecutor general stated: “There is no suspicion of a criminal offence.”
According to the military, there is still the possibility that the shots were fired by armed Palestinians.
The death of the journalist triggered an international outcry.
The Palestinian attorney general blamed Israel and accused the soldiers of deliberately killing the journalist.
An investigation in the US concluded that the fatal bullet had been fired by the Israeli military, but that Abu Akleh had not been shot intentionally. The 51-year-old’s funeral in Jerusalem was overshadowed by violence.
Washington on Monday called for accountability as it welcomed the review of what it called a “tragic incident.”
“We welcome Israel’s review of this tragic incident, and again underscore the importance of accountability in this case, such as policies and procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future,” US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Price said that the US would “continue to share best practices” on mitigating and responding to civilian harm caused by military operations with military partners and allies.
“Not only was Shireen an American citizen, she was a fearless reporter whose journalism and pursuit of truth earned her the respect of audiences around the world,” the statement continued.
GNA
