Joint Investigation Finds Abu Akleh’s Killing ‘Deliberate’
WEST BANK (Al Jazeera) – A joint investigation by a London-based multidisciplinary research group and a Palestinian rights group has uncovered further evidence that refutes the Zionist regime’s account that the killing of veteran Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was a mistake.
Forensic Architecture and Al-Haq said that Abu Akleh’s killing was deliberate.
The probe examined the Zionist sniper’s precise angle of fire, and concluded that the sniper was able to clearly tell that there were journalists in the area. It also ruled out the possibility of confrontations between Zionist troops and Palestinians in Jenin at the time of the attack.
According to the investigation, for which Al Jazeera provided material, the Zionist sniper shot for two minutes, and deliberately targeted those who tried to rescue Abu Akleh.
The findings come on the same day that Abu Akleh’s family formally submitted an official complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC), demanding justice for her killing.
Abu Akleh, who was with Al Jazeera for 25 years and known as the “voice of Palestine”, was shot in the head and killed by Zionist troops on May 11 while she was covering an army raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
She was wearing a flak jacket and helmet that clearly identified her as a member of the press. Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Samoudi, who was standing near her along with a group of Palestinian journalists, was also shot in the back but recovered.
Speaking in front of the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday, Abu Akleh’s brother Anton said that they would do whatever was necessary to ensure accountability for her killing.
“Like we said before, and like other reports said previously, there were more than 16 shots fired towards Shireen and the media and her colleagues who were standing in that ally,” Anton Abu Akleh said. “They even targeted the person who was trying to pull her into safety after she was shot down.”
He went on to say that the Zionist troops were able to identify who Abu Akleh was.
“She was in full gear, and she was clearly noted as press,” he said. “Any person shooting at the press is intentionally trying to kill them.”
The ICC decided in 2021 that it has jurisdiction over violence and war crimes that have occurred in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“That’s why there is some hope here by Palestinian journalists and the government that there will be a start into the investigation here into these cases, including the case of Shireen Abu Akleh,” Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen said, speaking at The Hague.
The complaint is supported by the Palestinian Press Syndicate and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Jim Boumhelha, the former president of the IFJ, said it was a “historic day” not just for Abu Akleh’s family, but for Palestinian journalists who have been on the receiving end of attacks by Israeli forces.
“We do hope that people inside the prosecution will take very seriously the document that we have given them,” he told Al Jazeera. “This is the first stage, and we are going through the motions.”
Last April, a coalition of the IFJ, the Palestinian Press Syndicate, and leading human rights lawyers submitted the first complaint to the ICC over the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists.
Boumhelha said that pursuing justice for Palestinian journalists within Israeli courts has never worked, due to the lack of an honest and credible due process.