Agencies-Gaza post
Israeli NGOs call on UN to investigate journalist Abu Akleh’s killing
A group of Israeli human rights associations, scholars, and partners of civil society have formally asked two United Nations special rapporteurs to probe the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran journalist for Al Jazeera, was shot dead on May 11 by Israeli forces carrying out a military invasion in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Abu Akleh, 51, was wearing a vest marked “PRESS” and a helmet when a bullet pierced her head from the back.
The letter, marked by the rights groups ‘Looking the Occupation in the Eye’, ‘Mothers Against Violence’, and ‘Machsom Watch’, among others, was addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Summary or Arbitrary Killings Morris Tidball-Binz and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese.
The letter notes a slew of cases wherein Palestinian journalists have been shot or wounded with little to no accountability. At least 45 journalists have been killed by Israeli forces since 2000, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Information. No Israeli soldier has been held responsible for killing a member of the media.
“Since the State of Israel enjoys 100 percent immunity and zero accountability from the international community, past experience proves that the State of Israel will not even open an investigation for fear of harming its PR,” the letter reads.
“In our understanding, Israel sees the backlash it received after Abu Akleh’s death as a passing episode of criticism that will soon be swallowed up in a variety of incidents and crises around the world, such as the war in Ukraine,” it says.
“We are currently considering the most effective course of action. The call from Israeli scholars and activists is important. It is a reminder that the Israel-Palestine question cannot and should not be treated as ‘an intractable conflict’ between two people, made of irreconcilable rivalry and an unassailable sense of identity,” Albanese told Al Jazeera when asked over the missive.
“Principled Israelis, and not only from the NGOs who are already engaged alongside the Palestinians in the pursuit of justice and accountability, oppose the occupation and related oppression of the Palestinians and demand an end to it. This is the most solid alliance to pave the way toward peace I can think of,” she said.
The Israeli troops said that they will not open a criminal investigation into the fatal shooting of Abu Akleh.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), as well as many international and local rights companies, believe Israel will not conduct a fair and just probe into Abu Akleh’s killing.
Source: Al Jazeera
