The fatal shots almost four months ago at journalist Shirin Abu Akle, who is prominent in the Arab world, were “very likely” fired by the Israeli military. “There is a high probability that she was accidentally hit by military shots,” a senior army official said Monday after completing internal investigations. However, the reporter from the Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera was never identified as a journalist, the representative said.
Shirin Abu Akle was shot dead during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank. Earlier, according to the Israeli military, there was a fierce firefight with dozens of Palestinian militants during an Israeli raid in the city of Jenin.
According to Israeli information, the shots could not be clearly assigned even after the investigation had been completed. Criminal investigations should not be initiated. The military attorney general said: “There is no suspicion of a criminal offense”. According to the military, there is still a possibility that the shots were fired by armed Palestinians.
The death of the woman – who was also a US citizen – caused international consternation. The Palestinian Attorney General blamed Israel and accused the soldiers of deliberately killing the journalist. An investigation in the US concluded that while the fatal bullet was fired by the Israeli military, Abu Akle was not shot dead intentionally. The funeral of the 51-year-old in Jerusalem was overshadowed by violence.
