Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was deliberately killed by Israeli forces, a new investigation conducted by British and Palestinian groups concluded.
The findings of their joint investigation were submitted on Tuesday to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by Abu Akleh’s family, the London-based Forensic Architecture and Palestinian Al-Haq rights group said.
Shawn Jabarin, the director of Al-Haq rights group, told, “The investigation was a scientific and documented study that concluded that the killing was deliberate by the Israeli army.”
Adding that the probe lasted for several days, the forensic engineering unit of the Forensic Architecture group has reviewed the field where Abu Akleh was killed and gathered all related documents, photos and videos, he said.
The Israeli sniper’s precise angle of fire was examined by the investigation, concluding that the sniper was able to clearly tell that there were journalists in the area.
The Palestinian Press Syndicate and the International Federation of Journalists also supported the complaint to ICC by Abu Akleh’s family.
Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist, was killed on May 11 after she was shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
Individual investigations were conducted by several leading media agencies, including Al Jazeera, CNN, Associated Press, Washington Post, and the New York Times, which all concluded that Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli bullet.
The Israeli army said Abu Akleh was likely killed by “wrong” gunfire from an Israeli soldier earlier this month.
