Israel’s flip-flop in journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing

The IDF claims that it cannot “unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire” and that she was likely killed during the crossfire between Israeli and Palestinian soldiers.

While Israel did not take responsibility for her killing, the statement which comes after a months-long internal investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing marks a U-turn from its initial position, that she was killed by Palestinian gunmen.

In a separate statement Monday, IDF’s Military Advocate General’s Office said that it does not intend to pursue criminal charges or prosecute any of the soldiers involved, as reported by CNN.

The IDF also reiterated that it was possible that Abu Akleh was killed by a bullet fired by a Palestinian gunmen.

Israel’s many flip-flops

While Al Jazeera had accused Israel of deliberately killing its reporter, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet claimed on the day Abu Akleh was killed (May 11), that she was “likely” killed by “armed Palestinians — who were indiscriminately firing at the time.”

Later that day, the Israeli forces seemed to retreat from this position, according to the Guardian, as IDK chief, Lt Gen Aviv Kochavi, stated, “At this stage we cannot determine by whose fire she was harmed and we regret her death.”

Israel Defence Minister, Benny Gantz said that they were trying to figure out what exactly happened and pledged that a transparent investigation would take place. According to leading Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Gantz said no indication had been found by the military’s initial investigation that Israeli forces shot at journalists.

On May 13, the Israel Defence Forces said that it had narrowed down two possibilities- either she was killed by indiscriminate Palestinian gunfire, or Israeli forces accidentally shot her while firing at a nearby gunman, Deutsche Welle reported.

After earlier claiming that the bullet that killed Abu Akleh might have come from Israeli soldier who was firing at a Palestinian gunmen near her, the Israeli military said on May 19 that it had identified a soldier’s rifle that “may have killed” Abu Akleh, as reported by Al Jazeera. However, Israel reportedly said that it could not be certain until the Palestinian authorities hand over the bullet that killed her for analysis.

On September 5, a senior Israeli military official told reporters in a briefing that there was “a very high likelihood” that Abu Akleh was shot by an Israeli soldier inside an armoured vehicle who misidentified her for a militant, the Associated Press reported.

Contradictions in Israel’s claims

Eyewitness accounts of the incident claim that the shots were fired by Israeli forces and have denied the claim that Israeli positions were being fired at from the area where Abu Akleh was standing, according to Reuters.

Several investigations conducted by international media houses, such as The New York Times, CNN and Washington Post in May-June found that there were no Palestinian gunmen near Abu Akleh when she was shot, contradicting the IDF’s claim that their soldiers had accidentally shot her after mistaking her for a militant. The investigations also found that an Israeli soldier in a military convoy likely fired the fatal shot on Abu Akleh.

On June 24, the United Nations said that Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli security forces. UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani claimed that Israeli authorities had not conducted an investigation for more than six weeks after her killing, and told reporters in Geneva that monitoring by the organization “is consistent with many findings out there that the shots that killed her came from Israeli security forces”.

Despite being clearly identified as members of the press, “seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli security forces,” the UN claimed. The spokesperson also stated that there was no evidence of activity by armed Palestinians nearby.

What has been the US position

American forensic experts were given the bullet that killed Abu Akleh by Palestinian authorities on July 3 to investigate the matter. The next day, after overseeing an “extremely detailed forensic analysis”, State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated that the US could not reach a “definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet,” since it was so badly damaged.

While the gunfire from the Israeli position was likely responsible for Abu Akleh’s death, there is “no reason to believe that this was intentional,” Price added, without providing evidence for the claim.

The US statement on July 4 drew the ire of Abu Akleh’s family and Palestinian leaders, as reported by AFP, who accused Washington of not holding Israel accountable for the killing of a journalist that held US citizenship.

Price, in a statement on September 5, said: “We welcome Israel’s review of this tragic incident, and again underscore the importance of accountability in this case, such as policies and procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”

What next?

The Israeli military’s refusal to accept responsibility and conduct a criminal investigation into any soldier involved in Abu Akleh’s killing has been criticized by her family and Palestinian authorities.

“Our family is not surprised by this outcome since it’s obvious to anyone that the Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. However, we remain deeply hurt, frustrated, and disappointed,” the family said in a statement published on Twitter.

Claiming that Israel is “incapable of holding themselves accountable,” they have renewed their demands for accountability by the US government towards one of its own citizens, and are pressing for an investigation and trial by the International Criminal Court in Hague.