Gantz: Initial Findings Indicate Al Jazeera Reporter Not Killed by IDF Fire

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday that preliminary findings from the military’s investigation into the shooting death of an Al Jazeera journalist earlier in the day indicate that she was not killed by Israeli forces.

The death by gunfire of American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during an IDF raid in Jenin prompted accusations that Israeli forces were responsible and demands for a full investigation.

Gantz told the Knesset, that “we have seen footage of indiscriminate shooting by Palestinian terrorists, which is likely to have hit the journalist.” However, he stressed that the investigation into the tragic event was ongoing.

“We will communicate our findings in a clear and transparent manner to our American friends, as well as to the Palestinian Authority.

“I have offered the Palestinians to conduct a joint investigation and to share our findings. I sent a clear message to [PA Chairman] Mahmoud Abbas today, that our responsibility as leaders is to maintain security, to conduct ourselves in a way that will prevent further violence and bloodshed and to uncover the truth,” Gantz said.

However, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the Palestinian Authority had rejected the proposal to conduct a joint autopsy.

Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet, “We are heartbroken by and strongly condemn the killing.

“Those responsible must be held accountable,” though he did not specifically accuse anyone.

“Her death is an affront to media freedom everywhere.”

Gantz said also that “we communicated with additional countries and officials, including Qatar, where Al Jazeera headquarters are based. We expressed that the findings at this time indicate that there is a reasonable chance that the journalist was shot by Palestinian armed terrorists. This being said, we will conduct an in-depth and comprehensive investigation and deliver our findings to them.”

Qatar’s deputy foreign minister condemned the killing called for an end to “state sponsored Israeli terrorism,” according to Reuters.

The European Union joined in the condemnations, and demanded an independent investigation into the circumstances of her death.

Shireen Abu Akleh, 51,a Palestinian-American, was wearing a press vest that clearly marked her as a journalist while reporting in Jenin, the Qatar-based outlet said.

Bennett, in a statement, said that according to information Israel has gathered so far, “it appears likely that armed Palestinians — who were firing indiscriminately at the time — were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist.”

The Palestinian health ministry said she had been hit in the head by gunfire. Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Al Jazeera described her death as blatant, cold-blooded murder by Israeli forces.

“Very sad to learn of the death of American and Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh,”Tom Nides, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, wrote on Twitter. “I encourage a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death and the injury of at least one other journalist today in Jenin.”

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said it had proposed to the Palestinian Authority a joint pathological investigation into the reporter’s death. “Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth,” he tweeted.

Ali Smoudi, a Palestinian journalist wounded alongside Abu Akleh, said Israeli forces “suddenly opened fire” at them during the operation.

“They didn’t ask us to leave and they didn’t ask us to stop (filming). They fired at us. One bullet hit me and another hit Shireen. They killed her in cold blood,” Smoudi, treated at a hospital in Jenin, told Reuters.

In a statement, the IDF said its troops had shot back after coming under “massive fire” in Jenin.

Israeli military spokesman Ran Kochav told Army Radio that Abu Akleh was close to a group of armed Palestinians who had been firing “imprecisely.”

A U.S. embassy spokesperson in Yerushalayim said Abu Akleh had covered issues in the Middle East and internationally for more than two decades and was “deeply respected by many Palestinians and others around the world.”