Israel denies cooperating with US investigation into journalist Abu Aklé's death

MADRID, 15 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United States has launched an investigation into the death of the American-Palestinian journalist Shirín Abu Aklé, who allegedly died in a shooting by the Israeli Army six months ago in the West Bank, as Jerusalem has made known, adding that it refuses to cooperate.

Israel's Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, has described the US initiative as a "mistake": "The decision made by the United States Department of Justice to conduct an investigation into the tragic death of Shirin Abu Akle is a mistake."

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has carried out a professional and independent investigation, which was presented to the US officials with whom the details were shared," he justified through his profile on the social network Twitter.

"I have sent a message to American representatives that we stand behind IDF soldiers, that we will not cooperate with an external investigation and will not allow interference in internal investigations," the defense minister said.

Israel's Channel 14 first reported that the US Justice Department notified the Israeli Justice Ministry that it would launch an investigation into Abu Akleh's death, The Jerusalem Post reports. However, the US Department of Justice has not made any comment or public statement for the time being.

Washington's decision represents a change in US policy, since the Biden Administration insisted for months that it would not open its own investigation, but would trust the investigations carried out by Israeli and Palestinian authorities, reports the newspaper 'The Times of Israel '.

The conclusions of the investigation also dismantle the narrative that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the vicinity of the position where the reporters were, as Israel pointed out at the time. The Israeli Army admitted several days later the possibility that the journalist died from a shot fired by her own forces, but always unintentionally.

The journalist was shot dead on May 11 during an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, while working for the Al Jazeera television channel. The reporter she wore a helmet and a vest that identified her as a journalist.

"We could never expect any kind of accountability or legitimate investigation from the same entity responsible for shooting dead an unarmed and clearly identifiable journalist," Abu Akleh's niece Lina said in September when the IDF investigation was published. .