© Ahmad Gharabli/AFPBanners depicting slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
The 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked "Press" and a helmet, was killed during clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen while covering an Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on May 11.
The Israel Defense Forces initially blamed Palestinian gunmen for the shooting, but later acknowledged that Abu Akleh could also have been killed by Israeli soldiers.
On Monday, a military official told reporters that a soldier had been identified who had "with very high likelihood" shot the journalist by mistake.
"He misidentified her. His reports in real-time point to a misidentification," the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Based on the final findings of its probe, the IDF said it was still "not possible to unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire" that killed Abu Akleh, but that "there is a high probability that 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."
Comment: Except that there were no Palestinian gunmen near her when she was murdered by the IDF. So their explanation is a load of horse hockey.
The IDF said Abu Akleh was not identified by troops at any point during the operation in Jenin, and troops had not intentionally fired at her, or any other civilians in the area.
Comment: Not identified? She was wearing a very clear bullet-proof vest with PRESS written on it. It could not have been clearer who she was.
Several independent media investigations have said there were no armed Palestinians in the vicinity of Abu Akleh and other journalists she was with when they came under gunfire, which also wounded another reporter.
A criminal investigation will not be opened, the army said Monday, as the Military Advocate General found there was no suspicion of any criminal offense in the case, meaning neither the soldier nor anyone in his chain of command would face punishment.
Abu Akleh was highly respected in the Arab world for her decades covering Palestinians and other Arab communities. Her family criticized the investigation, saying on Monday that the army "tried to obscure the truth and avoid responsibility" for the killing.
"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," the family said in a statement. It also reiterated its call for an independent US investigation and a probe by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem accused the army of a whitewash. "It was no mistake. It's policy," the group said.
Rights groups say Israeli investigations of the shooting deaths of Palestinians often languish for months or years before being quietly closed and that soldiers are rarely held accountable.
Al Jazeera's local bureau chief, Walid Al-Omari, accused the army of trying to escape responsibility. "This is clearly an attempt to circumvent the opening of a criminal investigation," he told The Associated Press.
The IDF had repeatedly rejected independent media investigations, some of which claimed she was deliberately targeted, and called the probes "biased."
The Palestinian Authority said its investigation proved that Abu Akleh was intentionally targeted and killed by the IDF during the raid.
The IDF also previously said it could not conclusively say who shot her until it got the bullet, which the PA refused to hand over for several months. The eventual examination of the bullet was inconclusive.
Israeli police drew widespread criticism from around the world when they beat mourners and pallbearers at her funeral for Abu Akleh in Jerusalem on May 14. An Israeli newspaper reported that a police investigation found wrongdoing by some of its officers, but said those who supervised the event would not be seriously punished.
The publication of the findings by the IDF on Monday came following reported pressure by the United States, including during a recent visit by US Assistant Secretary Barbara Leaf.
Leaf was in Israel and the West Bank from Thursday to Saturday for a low-profile visit that included meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials. The State Department said Leaf was in the region "to discuss a range of priorities," which included "US interest in improving the quality of life for the Palestinian people." Few details emerged from her visit, though she reportedly told Israeli officials that Washington was troubled by escalating violence in the West Bank.
we are the chosen ones” is toast. The more you know about how it works, the more you can see it.