If anything, I see myself as a “witness.” I’d also be pleased, if you’d call me an “interpreter.”
WIM WENDERS
Thursday, 19 May 2022
Israel will not investigate Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing: Report
The Israeli military believes the investigation would lead to controversy in Israel; Abu Akleh family not surprised, calls for transparent probe.
Israeli police confront with mourners as they carry the casket of slain Al Jazeera veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during her funeral in east Jerusalem [Maya Levin/AP Photo]
The Israeli military is not planning to investigate the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, according to an Israeli media report, leading her family to reiterate their call for a transparent probe into her shooting.
Israel’s Military Police Criminal Investigation Division believes that an investigation that treats Israeli soldiers as suspects will lead to opposition within Israeli society, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported on Thursday.
Previous investigations into the killings of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers have led to controversy within Israel, with many Israelis believing that soldiers should not be prosecuted for such acts.
Mahmoud Obaid, Al Jazeera’s cameraman holds his camera near Shireen Abu Akleh’s memorial photo [Abdelkahim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
In response to the report, Abu Akleh’s family said they were not surprised by the Israeli military potentially not investigating Abu Akleh’s death.
“We were expecting this from the Israeli side. That’s why we didn’t want them to participate in the investigation,” the family said in a statement to Al Jazeera. “We want to hold whoever is responsible for these acts accountable.”
“We urge the United States in particular since she is a US citizen and the international community to open a just and transparent investigation and to put an end to the killings.”
Abu Akleh, 51, was killed by an Israeli soldier last Wednesday, according to witnesses and colleagues who were present when she was shot while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The veteran reporter, who had spent nearly three decades covering the West Bank and Gaza Strip, was wearing a helmet and a vest with the word “press” emblazoned on it. She was hit in the back of the neck, in the small space between the helmet and the vest. Shots continued to be fired when colleagues and bystanders attempted to help Abu Akleh.
Abu Akleh was a US citizen residing in the occupied East Jerusalem.
The Abu Akleh family received reassurances from the US government that her killing would be investigated.
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