Al Jazeera said Tuesday it will submit a case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot in the head while covering an Israeli raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank in May.
“Al Jazeera’s legal team has conducted a full and detailed investigation into the case and unearthed new evidence based on several eyewitness accounts, the examination of multiple items of video footage, and forensic evidence pertaining to the case,” Al Jazeera said in a statement.
Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid Tuesday repeated a long-standing rejection that any outside authority would investigate Israel Defense Forces troops.
“No one will investigate IDF soldiers and no one will preach to us about morals in warfare, certainly not Al Jazeera,” Lapid said.
The IDF referred CNN questions about the ICC case to the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which declined to comment.
In September, the IDF admitted there is a “high possibility” Abu Akleh was “accidentally” shot and killed by Israeli fire aimed at “suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen during an exchange of fire.”
The IDF said at the time the Israeli military did not intend to pursue criminal charges or prosecutions of any of the soldiers involved.
The CNN investigation unearthed evidence — including two videos of the scene of the shooting suggesting that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death.
She was wearing a flak jacket identifying her as press at the time she was killed.
Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed in the West Bank Wednesday, the network said.
Bureau chief Waleed Al Omari wept on air as he announced the news.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said she was shot in the head by a live bullet in Jenin, and confirmed her death shortly afterwards.
A second journalist, Ali Al-Samudi, was also shot and is in stable condition, the ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said Israeli security forces had been operating in the area to arrest suspects in terrorist activities, said both suspects and Israeli forces fired, and acknowledged the possibility that journalists were hit.
Israel reveals US probe into Shireen Abu Akleh's death but says it 'will not cooperate'
Al Jazeera said Tuesday: “The claim by the Israeli authorities that Shireen was killed by mistake in an exchange of fire is completely unfounded. The evidence presented to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) confirms, without any doubt, that there was no firing in the area where Shireen was, other than the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) shooting directly at her.”
“The IOF inquiry that found there was no suspicion of any crime being committed is entirely undermined by the available evidence which has now been provided to the OTP. The evidence shows that this deliberate killing was part of a wider campaign to target and silence Al Jazeera,” the network added.
Abu Akleh’s family also submitted an official complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this year to demand justice for her death, Al Jazeera reported.
CNN has contacted the ICC to confirm if they received the case.
