Palestinian holds a light candle and a picture of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, to condemn her killing, in front of the office of Al Jazeera network, in Gaza City, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Abu Akleh was shot and killed while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) Adel Hana/AP

UN investigators: Al Jazeera journalist killed by Israeli forces

Christopher Hutton June 24, 08:53 AMJune 24, 08:53 AM Video Embed

The shooter who killed an Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was from Israel, investigators from the United Nations said Friday.

The shooter was a member of the Israeli Defense Force, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. While the outlet faulted soldiers with the IDF for Abu Akleh’s death, the military shifted its position on whether the Palestinian Authority was involved in the death.

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“The shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities,” U.N. Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

This investigation, based on a review of evidence provided by Israel’s military and the Palestinian Authority’s attorney general, also found no evidence supporting the allegation that the shooting happened while Palestinian Authority forces were present.

“We have found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists,” Shamdasani said.

The office reviewed photos, videos, and audio from the scene, as well as other communications and witness interviews.

Abu Akleh’s death became a point of international outrage after she was killed on May 11. Leaders from Israel and the Palestinian Authority immediately fixated on each other, alleging that the other nation’s military was behind her death. The Palestinian Authority was notably resistant to Israeli requests for cooperation, stating its investigation would be completed “independently.”

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Israeli authorities, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, initially claimed Palestinian Authority gunmen were behind the shooting. Officials later backtracked and said they could not rule out the possibility that an Israeli soldier shot Abu Akleh. Israel has not concluded whether anyone will face criminal charges over the killing and has not released its findings.

A funeral procession for Abu Akleh broke into violence on May 13 when mourners and Israeli police clashed in the street.

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