Israel won’t help with probe

ISRAEL will not cooperate with a US investigation into the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement this week.

Abu Akleh, a reporter for the Al Jazeera news network, was killed in May while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. Israel concluded in September that she was probably killed by unintentional Israeli gunfire, despite wearing clearly marked press gear in an area far from any Palestinian gunmen, according to eyewitnesses and fellow journalists interviewed by The Washington Post.

Gantz said the U.S. Justice Department had decided to investigate Abu Akleh’s death and called the move “a grave mistake.” The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel’s Channel 14 was the first to report Monday that the FBI had decided to open an investigation into her killing.

Israel’s Defense Forces “conducted an independent and professional investigation, which was presented to the Americans,” Gantz said. “I made it clear to the American representatives that we stand behind the [Israeli Defense Forces] soldiers, that we will not cooperate with any external investigation, and we will not allow interference in Israel’s internal affairs.”

Palestinian officials have accused Israeli forces of firing deliberately on Abu Akleh and other journalists who had gathered outside Jenin to monitor the raid. In recent months, Abu Akleh’s family has led a high-profile campaign for accountability, meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pope Francis.

“The lack of accountability, the lack of justice is what pushed me to advocate for my Aunt Shireen,” Lina Abu Akleh, who has spearheaded her family’s campaign, said last week as the UN Human Rights Council heard public testimony on Abu Akleh’s killing.

In June, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the information it gathered as part of its own probe “is consistent with the finding that the shots that killed Abu Akleh. … came from Israeli Security Forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians.”

The State Department later said that it “could not reach a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet” that killed Abu Akleh, citing an inquiry overseen by the US Security Coordinator, a joint, interagency body that works with Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The USSC concluded that gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible for the death of Abu Akleh.