Israel is not going to maintain prison inquiry into killing of journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh | Israel

Israel is not going to launch a prison investigation into the killing of the US-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, which Palestinian officers and witnesses have blamed on Israeli soldiers.

In a statement launched on Thursday, the Israel Protection Forces claimed that because Abu Aqleh was killed in an “energetic combat state of affairs”, an instantaneous prison investigation wouldn't be launched, though an “operational inquiry” would continue.

According to a report in the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli army police department has accepted the assurances of Israeli troops that they weren't aware she was in a village adjacent to the Jenin refugee camp when she was killed on 11 Might.

The Biden administration and the UN security council have called for a clear investigation.

Abu Aqleh was a family name throughout the Arab world, known for documenting the hardship of Palestinian life under Israeli rule for Al Jazeera. Her killing acquired widespread worldwide protection and prompted criticism from the White Home.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, promised her family that Washington would demand that her loss of life be properly investigated.

Abu Aqleh was killed during an arrest raid by an Israeli commando unit on Palestinian militants.

In keeping with Haaretz, the pinnacle of the Commando Brigade, Col Meni Liberty, identified six events during the raid when Israeli soldiers opened hearth, allegedly at armed Palestinians who were near Abu Aqleh and different journalists.

The Israeli army had beforehand launched an account that stated it could not unequivocally decide the source of the bullet that killed Abu Aqleh. That account speculated that the bullet may have been fired by either a Palestinian militant or an Israeli soldier using a “telescopic scope” at 200 metres.

Palestinian officers have refused to offer the recovered bullet to Israeli authorities to analyse however mentioned it welcomed international investigations.

The choice by the Israeli army advocate general, Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, not to order an investigation by the army police legal investigation division marks a departure from nearly all of latest incidents involving IDF shootings of civilians within the occupied West Bank, which have been followed by investigations.

At her funeral on Friday police beat mourners carrying her casket, prompting more criticism of Israeli authorities.

Final week the UN excessive commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, complained about a lack of Israeli accountability for deaths within the occupied territories.

Commenting on Abu Aqleh’s killing and the subsequent violence at her funeral, Bachelet said: “As I've called for many instances before, there have to be appropriate investigations into the actions of Israeli security forces.

“Anyone discovered accountable should be held to account with penal and disciplinary sanctions commensurate to the gravity of the violation. This culture of impunity must finish now.”

The Israeli NGO Yesh Din criticised the choice to not investigate, saying that “the military law enforcement mechanisms now not even bother to present the looks of investigating”.

Greater than 100 artists, including Hollywood stars, acclaimed authors and prominent musicians, have meanwhile signed a joint letter condemning Abu Aqleh’s killing.

Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and Tilda Swinton had been among the signatories to a letter printed by Artists for Palestine UK that called for “full accountability for the perpetrators of this crime and everyone concerned in authorising it”.

The Israel Defence Forces launched a press release on Thursday claiming that “dozens of Palestinian gunmen fired recklessly and indiscriminately while IDF troopers have been conducting counter-terrorism activities in the Jenin camp” on the day that Abu Aqleh died.

“An change of fireside occurred between Palestinian gunmen and the soldiers. Towards the tip of the exercise, the journalist Shireen Abu [Aqleh], who was present on the battle zone during the alternate of fire, was hit.

“Due to the nature of the lively combat scenario, an instantaneous [military criminal] investigation was not launched. A choice relating to the necessity of an … investigation can be determined by the military advocacy, in accordance with the findings of the still-ongoing operational inquiry, as is standard in such cases.”

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The police branch determination came a day after Israeli authorities stated they have given the go-ahead for flag-waving Jewish nationalists to march through the center of the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Previous City later this month, in a call that threatens to re-ignite violence in the holy metropolis.

The office of the public safety minister, Omer Barlev, stated the march would take place on 29 Could along its “customary route” via Damascus Gate, which is an Arab neighbourhood.

The Outdated City, located in East Jerusalem, has skilled weeks of violent confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators, and the march threatens to set off new unrest.