Washington: The Israel Defence Forces on Thursday for the first time apologized for the death of Al Jazeera’s journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, reported CNN.
Their apology came after a year, she was shot dead while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
The Al Jazeera journalist was tragically gunned down on May 11, 2022, while another journalist Ali Al Samudi who was present with Akleh was also shot, according to CNN.
The apology came from the IDF’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, in an interview with CNN.
“I think it’s an opportunity for me to say here that we are very sorry for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh,” he said.
It is the first time the IDF has apologized for the killing of the well-known correspondent, after conceding last year that there was a “high possibility” she was shot by an Israeli soldier.
“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.
Notably, it comes days after The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published a report that said it had found no accountability was taken by the Israeli military over its killings of at least 20 journalists over the past two decades, reported CNN.
The press advocacy group said it had documented at least 20 journalists killed by Israeli military fire since 2001, adding 18 of those killed were Palestinian. “No one has ever been charged or held accountable for these deaths,” it said in the press release.
While the IDF admitted for the first time last September that there was a “high possibility” Abu Akleh was “accidentally” shot and killed by Israeli fire, its 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.
Responding to the CPJ report earlier this month, the IDF said 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.
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