Israel is not going to hold prison inquiry into killing of journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh | Israel

Israel will not launch a prison investigation into the killing of the US-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, which Palestinian officials and witnesses have blamed on Israeli troopers.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces claimed that because Abu Aqleh was killed in an “lively combat situation”, a direct felony investigation would not be launched, although an “operational inquiry” would continue.

In response to a report within the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli navy police branch has accepted the assurances of Israeli troops that they were not conscious she was in a village adjacent to the Jenin refugee camp when she was killed on 11 Could.

The Biden administration and the UN security council have referred to as for a clear investigation.

Abu Aqleh was a family title throughout the Arab world, known for documenting the hardship of Palestinian life underneath Israeli rule for Al Jazeera. Her killing received widespread worldwide protection and prompted criticism from the White House.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, promised her household that Washington would demand that her demise be properly investigated.

Abu Aqleh was killed during an arrest raid by an Israeli commando unit on Palestinian militants.

In response to Haaretz, the head of the Commando Brigade, Col Meni Liberty, recognized six events through the raid when Israeli soldiers opened fireplace, allegedly at armed Palestinians who were close to Abu Aqleh and different journalists.

The Israeli army had beforehand launched an account that mentioned it could not unequivocally decide the source of the bullet that killed Abu Aqleh. That account speculated that the bullet may have been fired by either a Palestinian militant or an Israeli soldier using a “telescopic scope” at 200 metres.

Palestinian officials have refused to offer the recovered bullet to Israeli authorities to analyse but mentioned it welcomed worldwide investigations.

The choice by the Israeli army advocate common, Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, not to order an investigation by the army police legal investigation division marks a departure from the vast majority of current incidents involving IDF shootings of civilians within the occupied West Financial institution, which have been followed by investigations.

At her funeral on Friday police beat mourners carrying her casket, prompting extra criticism of Israeli authorities.

Last week the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, complained a couple of lack of Israeli accountability for deaths in the occupied territories.

Commenting on Abu Aqleh’s killing and the following violence at her funeral, Bachelet said: “As I've called for many occasions before, there should be acceptable investigations into the actions of Israeli security forces.

“Anyone discovered responsible needs to be held to account with penal and disciplinary sanctions commensurate to the gravity of the violation. This culture of impunity should end now.”

The Israeli NGO Yesh Din criticised the decision not to investigate, saying that “the military regulation enforcement mechanisms no longer even hassle to present the looks of investigating”.

Greater than 100 artists, together with Hollywood stars, acclaimed authors and outstanding musicians, have in the meantime signed a joint letter condemning Abu Aqleh’s killing.

Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and Tilda Swinton have been among the signatories to a letter printed by Artists for Palestine UK that called for “full accountability for the perpetrators of this crime and everyone involved in authorising it”.

The Israel Defence Forces released a statement on Thursday claiming that “dozens of Palestinian gunmen fired recklessly and indiscriminately while IDF troopers have been conducting counter-terrorism actions in the Jenin camp” on the day that Abu Aqleh died.

“An alternate of fireplace occurred between Palestinian gunmen and the troopers. Towards the end of the exercise, the journalist Shireen Abu [Aqleh], who was present at the battle zone through the alternate of fireplace, was hit.

“As a result of nature of the energetic fight situation, an immediate [military criminal] investigation was not launched. A decision concerning the need of an … investigation will be determined by the military advocacy, in accordance with the findings of the still-ongoing operational inquiry, as is commonplace in such circumstances.”

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The police branch resolution got here a day after Israeli authorities stated they've given the go-ahead for flag-waving Jewish nationalists to march through the heart of the primary Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Old Metropolis later this month, in a choice that threatens to re-ignite violence within the holy metropolis.

The office of the general public safety minister, Omer Barlev, mentioned the march would happen on 29 Might alongside its “customary route” through Damascus Gate, which is an Arab neighbourhood.

The Outdated City, positioned in East Jerusalem, has skilled weeks of violent confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators, and the march threatens to set off new unrest.