The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli military have apologized for the first time in a year following the unfortunate death of Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al Jazeera journalist.
In Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, Akleh was shot and killed while covering an Israeli military operation with another journalist, Ali Al Samudi, who was also wounded. This apology was made one year after that incident.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s chief spokesman, told CNN, “I think it’s an opportunity for me to say here that we are very sorry for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh.”
After acknowledging last year that there was a “high possibility” that the renowned correspondent was shot by an Israeli soldier, this apology will mark the first time the IDF has expressed regret for her death.
“She was a journalist, a very established journalist. In Israel, we value our democracy and in a democracy, we see high value in journalism and in a free press. We want journalists to feel safe in Israel, especially in wartime, even if they criticize us,” said Hagari.
Days before to the apology, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a study claiming that the Israeli military had not been held accountable for the deaths of at least 20 journalists over the previous two decades.
The press advocacy group claims that since 2001, Israeli military fire has killed at least 20 journalists, 18 of whom were Palestinian. The news statement stated that “no one has ever been charged or held accountable for these deaths.”
Israel’s Military Advocate General’s Office said in a statement that it did not intend to pursue criminal charges or prosecutions of any of the soldiers involved after the Israeli government acknowledged for the first time last September that there was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh was “accidentally” shot and killed by Israeli fire.
Earlier this month, in response to the CPJ report, the IDF stated that it “regrets any harm to civilians during operational activity and considers the protection of the freedom of the press and the professional work of journalists to be of great importance.”
“The IDF does not intentionally target noncombatants, and live fire in combat is used only after all other options have been exhausted,” it said in the statement.