Israel won’t maintain legal inquiry into killing of journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh | Israel

Israel is not going to launch a criminal investigation into the killing of the US-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, which Palestinian officials and witnesses have blamed on Israeli soldiers.

In an announcement released on Thursday, the Israel Protection Forces claimed that because Abu Aqleh was killed in an “lively combat situation”, an immediate legal investigation would not be launched, although an “operational inquiry” would proceed.

In accordance with a report in the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli navy police department has accepted the assurances of Israeli troops that they were not conscious she was in a village adjacent to the Jenin refugee camp when she was killed on 11 May.

The Biden administration and the UN safety council have called for a clear investigation.

Abu Aqleh was a household name across the Arab world, known for documenting the hardship of Palestinian life below Israeli rule for Al Jazeera. Her killing obtained widespread worldwide coverage and prompted criticism from the White Home.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, promised her family that Washington would demand that her loss of life be correctly investigated.

Abu Aqleh was killed during an arrest raid by an Israeli commando unit on Palestinian militants.

In accordance with Haaretz, the top of the Commando Brigade, Col Meni Liberty, identified six occasions through the raid when Israeli soldiers opened fire, allegedly at armed Palestinians who had been close to Abu Aqleh and different journalists.

The Israeli military had beforehand launched an account that mentioned it couldn't unequivocally decide the source of the bullet that killed Abu Aqleh. That account speculated that the bullet might have been fired by either a Palestinian militant or an Israeli soldier using a “telescopic scope” at 200 metres.

Palestinian officers have refused to offer the recovered bullet to Israeli authorities to analyse however stated it welcomed international investigations.

The choice by the Israeli army advocate common, Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, to not order an investigation by the army police prison investigation division marks a departure from the majority of recent incidents involving IDF shootings of civilians within the occupied West Bank, which have been adopted by investigations.

At her funeral on Friday police beat mourners carrying her casket, prompting extra criticism of Israeli authorities.

Last week the UN excessive commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, complained about a lack of Israeli accountability for deaths within the occupied territories.

Commenting on Abu Aqleh’s killing and the following violence at her funeral, Bachelet stated: “As I've known as for many occasions before, there have to be acceptable investigations into the actions of Israeli security forces.

“Anybody discovered responsible needs to be held to account with penal and disciplinary sanctions commensurate to the gravity of the violation. This culture of impunity should end now.”

The Israeli NGO Yesh Din criticised the decision to not investigate, saying that “the army law enforcement mechanisms not even hassle to offer the appearance of investigating”.

More than 100 artists, together with Hollywood stars, acclaimed authors and prominent musicians, have meanwhile signed a joint letter condemning Abu Aqleh’s killing.

Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and Tilda Swinton have been among the many signatories to a letter published by Artists for Palestine UK that called for “full accountability for the perpetrators of this crime and everybody involved in authorising it”.

The Israel Defence Forces launched a statement on Thursday claiming that “dozens of Palestinian gunmen fired recklessly and indiscriminately whereas IDF troopers were conducting counter-terrorism activities within the Jenin camp” on the day that Abu Aqleh died.

“An exchange of fire occurred between Palestinian gunmen and the troopers. Toward the end of the exercise, the journalist Shireen Abu [Aqleh], who was current on the battle zone during the alternate of fireside, was hit.

“As a result of nature of the lively fight state of affairs, a direct [military criminal] investigation was not launched. A call regarding the need of an … investigation can be determined by the military advocacy, in accordance with the findings of the still-ongoing operational inquiry, as is customary in such cases.”

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The police department decision got here a day after Israeli authorities mentioned they have given the go-ahead for flag-waving Jewish nationalists to march by the heart of the principle Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Outdated City later this month, in a call that threatens to re-ignite violence in the holy city.

The workplace of the public security minister, Omer Barlev, mentioned the march would take place on 29 May alongside its “customary route” via Damascus Gate, which is an Arab neighbourhood.

The Old City, situated in East Jerusalem, has experienced weeks of violent confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators, and the march threatens to set off new unrest.