Israel admits its soldiers likely shot dead Shireen Abu Akleh

After months of denial, Israel has admitted that its military likely killed Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May. The killing, however, was unintentional and not deliberate, Israeli investigators insisted in a conclusion the journalist’s family denounced as a cover-up.

“We could never expect any type of accountability or legitimate investigation from the very entity responsible for gunning down an unarmed and clearly identifiable journalist,” Lina Abu Akleh, the journalist’s niece said.

Shireen, who reported for Al Jazeera, was shot dead on May 11 while covering an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Testimonies by eyewitness and investigations by the media soon established that she was shot dead by Israeli soldiers – the New York Times traced the bullet which killed Shireen to an Israeli convoy – even as Israel sought to blame the Palestinian armed fighters in Jenin.

In any case, Israeli military won’t prosecute any of the soldiers responsible for the journalist's killing.

“All evidence, facts and investigations that have been conducted proved that Israel was the perpetrator and that it had killed Shireen and it should bear responsibility for its crime,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Isreali investigators still insist that while “there is a high possibility that Ms Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen”, it’s also possible that she was hit by Palestinian gunmen, Reuters reported.

It’s a conclusion Walid al-Omari, Al Jazeera's West Bank bureau chief, described to Reuters as “an attempt to avoid an independent criminal investigation”. “It is clear that they are trying to perpetuate ambiguity and deception on the one hand, while at the same time clear themselves of wrongdoing by claiming that there was an exchange of fire," Walid told the news agency. "These are all lies, because all the accounts and videos and witnesses disprove their claims."

The Committee to Protect Journalists said the Israeli military’s statement was "late and incomplete" and "does not provide the answers – by any measure of transparency or accountability – that her family and colleagues deserve”.