According to investigations Al Jazeera Journalist was not in direct line of fire, that means line of fire was changed in order to shoot her.
Al Jazeera media network will approach the International Criminal Court in the case of death of its journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The organization has formed a legal team along with international experts. They are currently preparing their submissions to the prosecutor of Hauge based court.
The submission includes the Israeli bombing “and total destruction” of Al Jazeera’s office in Gaza in May 2021. It was also “constant incitements and attacks” on Al Jazeera journalists working in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“Al Jazeera Media Network condemns the killing of our colleague Shireen Abu Akleh, who worked with the Network for 25 years as a professional journalist covering the ongoing conflict in the occupied Palestinian territories, we vow to follow every path to achieve justice for Shireen, and ensure those responsible for her killing are brought to justice and held accountable in all international justice and legal platforms and courts” the network said in a statement.
Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead on May 11 while covering an Israeli Army raid on Jenin city in the occupied West Bank. She was rushed to a hospital in Jenin where the doctor’s declared her dead-on arrival.
Another Al Jazeera journalist Ali-al Samoudi was also shot and wounded critically by the bullet but he survived the attack. “We were going to film the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming,” said al-Samoudi.
Al Jazeera Journalist was deliberately shot: Investigation by Palestine
In an investigation by Palestinian authorities concluded that Shireen was deliberately shot. The investigators claimed that there were no Palestinian terrorists around her when she was shot. Further according to investigations Shireen was not in direct line of fire, that means line of fire was changed in order to shoot her.
Investigations also referred to the helmet and Press vest that Shireen was wearing which clearly marked her out of the crowd. The soldiers couldn’t have any confusion and they shot despite knowing that she was from media, they meant.
Palestinian official Al- Khatib said interviews of witness, forensic medical report and the inspection of the scene provide a strong base for this organization. “The only source of firing was by the occupation forces with the aim to kill,” he said.
According to his investigations Al-Khatib referred to the autopsy report conducted in Nablus showed she was shot from behind. It shows she attempted to flee as the firing by Israeli forces began.
Israel denied allegations:
Israel angrily denied the allegations that she was deliberately shot. Earlier, they claimed that she might have died in the cross fire between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militants. Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz rejected the Palestinian reports. “Any claim that the IDF intentionally harms journalists or uninvolved civilians, is a blatant lie,” he wrote on Twitter.
He again requested Palestinian officials to cooperate with Israel in its ‘independent investigation’ into the incident. They are also asking for the bullet from which she was killed. They want to do a ballistic test on that bullet to ascertain that it was from an Israeli gun or not. Israel is refusing to trust it was an Israeli bullet and is pressing for a joint probe.
Al-Khatib also claimed in the investigations that the bullet found from Shireen’s body was 5.56 mm round fired from a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle. This weapon is used by Israeli army, he claimed. Israel rebutted the claim by referring that 5.56 mm bullet can also be fired from M-16 rifles. M-16 is typically used by Palestinian militants.
I will continue to call on the PA to hand over the bullet and findings. We are prepared and willing to conduct an investigation in collaboration with international actors,” Gantz said on Thursday.
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