Israel has for the first time admitted one of its soldiers may have been responsible for the death of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot in the head May 11th while covering an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Israel said Monday Abu Akleh may have been “accidentally” hit by Israeli troops’ gunfire after they came under fire from Palestinian fighters.
But eyewitness accounts and videos of the area where Shireen was killed do not show a gun battle. She also wore body armor and a helmet clearly labeled ”PRESS.” Investigations by The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post and other media outlets also challenge the official Israeli version of Abu Akleh’s killing. The Times said there were, quote, “no
that statement did nothing other than obscure the truth and avoid responsibility and accountability, as a matter of fact. And time and time again, we’ve seen how Israel is unwilling to hold itself accountable for killings. And as a family and as her niece, we are infuriated. We were not expecting a statement from the Israeli government, the Israeli army, because we have seen how over the past months they’ve been changing the narrative and shifting the narrative.
Here is what we know. We know the facts. We know that Shireen was in Jenin covering a raid. She identified herself to the army, in addition to her colleagues, who were all wearing press vests and a protective helmet. You know, we’re talking here about the most advanced army, one of the most technologically advanced armies, and they still were able to aim precisely in the area right beneath her head and shoot her. In addition, there were continuous fires right after they killed my aunt. Even when they were trying to help her, they were still being fired at. So,
— source democracynow.org | Sep 07, 2022