The family of Palestinian Arab-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh filed a formal complaint this week to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over her death in May while covering a shootout between Israeli forces and terrorists near Jenin, i24NEWS reported on Thursday.
The family said in the complaint, filed on Tuesday, that they included new evidence which allegedly prove that Israeli soldiers "deliberately targeted" the Al Jazeera journalist.
“The evidence is overwhelming. It’s been over four months since Shireen was killed. Our family shouldn’t have to wait another day for justice,” Abu Aqleh's family's statement submitted at The Hague said.
“It’s obvious that Israeli war criminals cannot investigate their own crimes. The US still has an obligation to investigate and take meaningful action for one of their own citizens. But when an individual state fails to protect its own citizens, it’s the responsibility of the international community to protect them instead,” they added.
The IDF released a report on Abu Aqleh’s death earlier this month. The report found that it was not possible to unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire from which Abu Aqleh was hit and killed. The report said that there is a high possibility Abu Aqleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire, but it is also possible that she was hit by gunfire from Palestinian Arab terrorists.
The family criticized the IDF’s internal investigation, saying it "tried to hide the truth and avoid taking responsibility."
The evidence the Abu Aqleh family attached to the ICC complaint was released by Al-Haq, a Palestinian Arab group blacklisted by Israel over its alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as well as the London-based research firm Forensic Architecture. The report combined spatial and audio analysis, drone footage, geotagged video and never-before-seen video footage filmed by another reporter at the scene.
The PA initially refused Israel’s request to launch a joint probe to investigate the incident, and instead released the findings of its investigation, claiming that she was shot by IDF forces.
Eventually, the PA finally agreed to a forensic investigation by the US of the bullet that they claim killed Abu Aqleh.
Members of Abu Aqleh’s family recently met Secretary of State Antony Blinken to demand justice for her death. Lina Abu Aqleh, Shireen Abu Aqleh's niece, posted on Twitter after that meeting that family members wanted to meet President Joe Biden himself and that anything short of a US investigation that led to accountability was unacceptable.