The IDF on Thursday apologized for the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, a dual Palestinian Arab-American citizen, a year after she was killed while covering clashes between IDF troops and terrorists in Jenin on May 11, 2022.
The apology was made by IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari during in an interview with CNN’s Eleni Giokos.
“I think it’s an opportunity for me to say here that we are very sorry of the death of Shireen Abu Aqleh,” said Hagari.
“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 war time, even if they criticize us,” he added.
The IDF released a report on Abu Aqleh’s death in September. 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.
Last November, the US administration informed the Israeli government that the FBI has opened an investigation into the death of Abu Aqleh.
US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters last week that the FBI report is expected to uphold findings that Abu Aqleh was likely killed by accidental IDF gunfire.
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.