The Qatari network says that the recording, which contradicts the Israeli version, has been verified
MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Qatari television network Al Jazeera published this Friday a video recorded moments before the death of the Palestinian-American journalist Shirín abu Aklé, who was shot in the head last week during an operation by Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The network has indicated that the video was recorded by a resident of the city and has stressed that it has been verified, before adding that it shows the journalists in a calm situation before the shots are fired, contrary to the Israeli assertion of that there were Palestinian militiamen opening fire in the area.
The recording shows several people speaking and several journalists, including Abu Aklé, dressed in press vests and helmets and advancing in the direction of positions where Israeli security forces are believed to be, at which point gunshots are heard.
After that, the people who appear in the foreground begin to flee from the area from which the shots came, while Abú Aklé appears lying on the ground after having been shot in the face, an event that has sparked international criticism, even though Israel has said it is unclear who fired the fatal shot.
Israeli authorities said on Thursday that the army had identified the weapon with which the journalist may have been shot, although they stressed that they cannot be sure unless the Palestinian authorities hand over the bullet, which they have refused to do.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid offered the Palestinian Authority a “joint pathological investigation”, although the Palestinian authorities rejected this option arguing that they do not trust Israel’s neutrality and stated that they would take the case to the International Criminal Court ( TPI).
Likewise, the Israeli newspaper ‘Haaretz’ reported on Thursday that the Israel Military Police will not investigate the death of the Palestinian-American journalist, after the military prosecutor, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, has declined to order these inquiries from the Division of Criminal Investigations of the Military Police (Metzah).
According to this information, this derives from the fact that he does not consider that there are suspicions of a criminal act because the soldiers testified that they did not see the journalist and that they shot at the militiamen, as well as the perception that this investigation and the interrogations necessary for her could provoke controversy within the Army and in Israeli society.
The event has been condemned by Al Jazeera, the Palestinian Authority and Qatar, which stressed that “the occupation must be held accountable for this horrible crime and bring those responsible to international justice.” For its part, the United Nations called for “an immediate and exhaustive investigation and that those responsible be held accountable.”
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