Israel Accepts “High Possibility” that its Soldier “accidentally” Killed Shireen Abu Akleh

By Yousuf Ali

In May 2022, Israeli forces killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Since the killing, Israel’s likely responsibility has been upheld by several investigations including from CNN, AP, and the New York Times. Despite this, Israel denied responsibility for the killing and has instead chosen to blame Palestinian gunfire despite many of the investigations saying there was no Palestinian gunfire nearby for several months.

On Wednesday, September 7, Israel accepted the likelihood that one of its soldiers did kill Abu Akleh but insisted that it was accidental. According to Al Jazeera, “The Israeli army conceded on Monday for the first time that one of its soldiers had likely shot Abu Akleh, after having mistaken her for a fighter. It had initially blamed Palestinian gunmen for her killing.“There is a high possibility that Ms. Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by [Israeli military] gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen,” said the army’s final report into her May 11 death.

The acknowledgment came after months of the army insisting it was impossible to determine the source of the deadly shot that killed the celebrated Al Jazeera journalist.” Israeli Prime minister Yair Lapid said the soldier was acting in self-defense from gunfire by nearby Palestinian militants and insisted there was no possibility of prosecution. 

Palestinian leaders and activists reject the Israeli characterization of Abu Akleh’s killing. Rather, they say she was deliberately killed while being clearly identified as a member of the press. In response to further remarks from Israeli president Benny Gantz, “The Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Wasel Abu Youssef described Gantz’s remarks as “desperate”. “Israel alone bears the responsibility for the daily killings of our people,” he said.

It should be noted that even lawmakers from the United States, who are generally supportive of Israel, have rejected Israel’s account of events. According to The Middle East Eye, “US Senator Chris Van Hollen on Wednesday rejected an Israeli army report that said a soldier likely killed Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by accident during a gun battle with armed Palestinians. He said the claim was not supported by evidence. “

The crux of the ‘defense’ in this IDF report is that a soldier was ‘returning fire’ from militants,” he tweeted. He added that investigations by the New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN, the Washington Post, and the United Nations found “no such firing at the time”. “This underscores need for independent US inquiry into this American journalist’s death.” Chris Van Hollen is a Democratic senator from Maryland. He believes that the United States should take the death of one of its own citizens at the hands of a foreign army more seriously especially when Israel’s defense does not align with several previous investigations.