Israel will not maintain felony 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 troopers.

In an announcement released on Thursday, the Israel Protection Forces claimed that because Abu Aqleh was killed in an “energetic fight situation”, a direct prison investigation would not be launched, though an “operational inquiry” would continue.

In keeping with a report in the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli army police branch has accepted the assurances of Israeli troops that they weren't conscious she was in a village adjoining to the Jenin refugee camp when she was killed on 11 May.

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

Abu Aqleh was a household name across the Arab world, identified for documenting the hardship of Palestinian life beneath 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 household that Washington would demand that her death be correctly investigated.

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

According to Haaretz, the top of the Commando Brigade, Col Meni Liberty, recognized six events during the raid when Israeli soldiers opened fire, allegedly at armed Palestinians who were near Abu Aqleh and different journalists.

The Israeli navy had previously released an account that said it could not unequivocally decide the source of the bullet that killed Abu Aqleh. That account speculated that the bullet may have been fired by both a Palestinian militant or an Israeli soldier utilizing a “telescopic scope” at 200 metres.

Palestinian officers have refused to present the recovered bullet to Israeli authorities to analyse however mentioned it welcomed worldwide investigations.

The decision by the Israeli navy advocate basic, Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, not to order an investigation by the military police legal investigation division marks a departure from the vast majority of latest incidents involving IDF shootings of civilians in the occupied West Bank, which have been adopted by investigations.

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

Final week the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, complained about a lack of Israeli accountability for deaths in the occupied territories.

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

“Anyone found accountable ought to be held to account with penal and disciplinary sanctions commensurate to the gravity of the violation. This tradition of impunity should end now.”

The Israeli NGO Yesh Din criticised the decision not to examine, saying that “the army regulation enforcement mechanisms now not even bother to provide the looks of investigating”.

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

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

The Israel Defence Forces released a statement on Thursday claiming that “dozens of Palestinian gunmen fired recklessly and indiscriminately while IDF soldiers had been conducting counter-terrorism activities within the Jenin camp” on the day that Abu Aqleh died.

“An change of fire occurred between Palestinian gunmen and the troopers. Towards the end of the activity, the journalist Shireen Abu [Aqleh], who was present at the battle zone in the course of the change of fireside, was hit.

“Because of the nature of the active fight state of affairs, a right away [military criminal] investigation was not launched. A call regarding the necessity of an … investigation shall be determined by the navy advocacy, in accordance with the findings of the still-ongoing operational inquiry, as is customary in such instances.”

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The police branch decision came a day after Israeli authorities mentioned they have given the go-ahead for flag-waving Jewish nationalists to march through the heart of the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Old City later this month, in a decision that threatens to re-ignite violence in the holy city.

The office of the public security minister, Omer Barlev, said the march would happen on 29 Could alongside its “customary route” via Damascus Gate, which is an Arab neighbourhood.

The Old City, located in East Jerusalem, has skilled weeks of violent confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators, and the march threatens to trigger new unrest.