A vigil for Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Gaza City on May 11, 2022. Israel said on September 5 that Abu Akleh was likely killed by unintentional Israeli fire. (AP/Adel Hana)

Israel finds Shireen Abu Akleh likely killed by unintentional Israeli fire

Washington, D.C., September 5, 2022—In response to news reports that an internal Israeli investigation released Monday found that Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was likely killed by unintentional Israel Defense Forces fire, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for accountability:

“The Israel Defense Forces’ admission of guilt is late and incomplete. They provided no name for Shireen Abu Akleh’s killer and no other information than his or her own testimony that the killing was a mistake,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “That does not provide the answers–by any measure of transparency or accountability–that her family and colleagues deserve.”

Abu Akleh, a dual Palestinian American national, was shot and killed on May 11 while she was reporting on an IDF raid in the Palestinian West Bank city of Jenin.