The TV station Al-Jazeera wants to bring the case of journalist Shirin Abu Akleh, who was killed in the West Bank in May, before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The news channel’s legal department has thoroughly investigated the case and found new evidence proving that the journalist and her colleagues were “directly shot at” by the Israeli army, the channel said on Tuesday. The documents should therefore be submitted on the same day. The perpetrators must be held accountable and brought to justice, it said.
Israeli Prime Minister Jair Lapid tweeted: “Nobody will investigate Israeli soldiers and nobody will lecture us on morality in warfare, least of all al-Jazeera.” Israel does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Criminal Court and has refused to cooperate in previous investigations.
The death of the Palestinian reporter, who was also a US citizen, caused international outrage. Abu Akleh was killed by gunfire during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank. According to the Israeli army, there had previously been a firefight with dozens of militant Palestinians. The Palestinian Attorney General accused the soldiers of deliberately killing the journalist. The 51-year-old wore a helmet and a vest with the inscription “Press”.
An investigation by the Israeli military came to the conclusion that the shots could not be clearly attributed, but were “very likely” accidentally fired by an Israeli soldier. Criminal investigations should not be initiated. Investigations into the case were also launched in the United States a few weeks ago. Israel’s defense minister, Benny Gantz, said at the time that Israel “would not cooperate with any external investigation or interfere with internal investigations.”
