Israel has issued a stern rebuke to the United States after it was reported that the US government is opening an investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
“IDF soldiers will not be interrogated by the FBI or by any foreign body or foreign country, no matter how friendly,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid insisted. “We will not abandon IDF soldiers to foreign investigations, and our strong protest has been conveyed to the Americans at the appropriate levels,” he continued.
“The IDF is a moral and values-based army. IDF soldiers and commanders defend the State of Israel, thoroughly investigate every aberrant incident, and are committed to the values of democracy and its laws.”
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz earlier stated: “I will not allow an IDF soldier that was protecting himself from terrorist fire to be prosecuted just to receive applause from abroad.”
Abu Akleh was killed in the Jenin refugee camp by an armor-piercing round which multiple investigations by international media outlets found to have been shot by the Israeli military. In September, the IDF admitted there was a “high possibility” Abu Akleh was shot by one of their soldiers, but announced they would not be charging anyone over her death.
The family of the slain journalist, which had campaigned for months for the US to do more to bring attention to her killing, expressed “encouragement” at the news that the FBI is carrying out an investigation independently of Israeli authorities, calling it “an important step towards accountability” which “gets our family closer to justice for Shireen.”