The IDF on Monday announced the long-awaited results of its investigation into the deadly shooting of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, saying there was a "high probability" an Israeli soldier had mistakenly killed her during clashes with terrorists near Jenin in May.
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The conclusions were unlikely to put to rest an issue that has worsened what already were badly strained relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Both Palestinian officials and Abu Akleh's family accused the army of evading responsibility for her killing.
Israeli officials told Israel Hayom that had Abu Akleh not been a media figure and a US citizen, the IDF would have not carried out such an extensive after-action review, citing the constant campaign by her family and the media outlets to cast Israeli troops as killers. They noted that the high-profile case and the fact that US officials have repeatedly raised this issue with their Israeli counterparts, asking them to "take responsibility", have led the IDF to use its entire gamut of methods in order to get to the facts of the case, even though they have yet to be fully unearthed.
However, the Israeli sources noted that the IDF will not court-martial the troops that were involved in the shooting despite the calls in the international community to do so, citing the fact that the investigation has not indicated a deliberate targeting of the journalist. They stressed that there was no need to prosecute the soldiers because it has already been determined that she was accidentally caught in the crossfire, although it is unclear if this will be enough to satisfy the US.
"Our family is not surprised by this outcome since it's obvious to anyone that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. However, we remain deeply hurt, frustrated and disappointed," her family said in a statement. Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American, was killed while covering an Israeli raid and was apparently hit when soldiers were defending themselves against terrorists. She had covered the West Bank for Al-Jazeera for two decades and was a well-known face across the Arab world.
In a briefing with reporters, a senior Israeli military official said there was a "very high likelihood" that Abu Akleh was mistakenly shot by an Israeli soldier positioned inside an armored vehicle who thought he was aiming at a terrorist. "He misidentified her," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity under military briefing guidelines. "His reports in real time... absolutely point to a misidentification." "We know that he fired, but it could very well be that this happened from other fire," he added.
Jenin is known as a bastion of Palestinian terrorists, and Israel has carried out raids there almost nightly since a string of deadly attacks inside Israel earlier this year, some of which were carried out by assailants from the area. Repeating previous Israeli claims, the military official said the soldiers had been under continuous fire for almost an hour from multiple directions before Abu Akleh was shot. The army released several videos showing Palestinian terrorists firing automatic weapons and soldiers coming under fire that day.
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