he Israeli military has mentioned there’s a “excessive risk” that one among their troopers killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in Could.
Nevertheless, a senior navy official mentioned the navy’s prime authorized officer is not going to be launching a felony investigation into the incident – that means neither the soldier nor his command will face punishment.
Ms Abu Akleh was killed whereas overlaying Israeli navy raids within the occupied West Financial institution, with Palestinian authorities blaming the Israeli military.
Israel initially mentioned she could have been killed by militant fireplace, however later mentioned a soldier could have hit her by mistake throughout an change of fireplace.
Ms Abu Akleh, a Palestine-American journalist, had coated the West Financial institution for the satellite tv for pc channel for twenty years and was well-known throughout the Arab world.
In a briefing to reporters, the official mentioned the navy couldn’t conclusively decide the place the fireplace emanated from, saying there could have been Palestinian gunmen in the identical space because the Israeli soldier.
However he mentioned the soldier killed the journalist “with very excessive probability” and did so by mistake.
The official didn’t clarify why witness accounts and movies confirmed restricted militant exercise within the space, in addition to no gunfire within the neighborhood till the barrage that struck Ms Abu Akleh and wounded one other reporter.
“He misidentified her. His studies in actual time level to a misidentification,” the official mentioned, talking on situation of anonymity underneath navy briefing tips.
The outcomes of the probe, introduced practically 4 months after the killing, largely align with these of a number of unbiased investigations accomplished a lot earlier.
There was no instant response from Palestinian officers, Al Jazeera or her household.
Further reporting by AP.