CD (Portland) — Following an investigation that Al-Jazeera claims has uncovered new evidence regarding the fatal shooting of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the international news network announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Israeli military forces at the International Criminal Court.

“Al-Jazeera‘s legal team has conducted a full and detailed investigation into the case and unearthed new evidence based on several eyewitness accounts, the examination of multiple items of video footage, and forensic evidence pertaining to the case,” said the network in a statement.

The investigation reportedly proves that Abu Akleh and her colleagues “were directly fired at by the Israeli occupation forces” when they were covering a raid by the forces in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on May 11.

“The claim by the Israeli authorities that Shireen was killed by mistake in an exchange of fire is completely unfounded,” said Al-Jazeera.

Rodney Dixon, a lawyer for the network, told reporters that the International Criminal Court should identify the individuals responsible for Abu Akleh’s killing.

“The rulings of the International Criminal Court stipulate that those responsible be investigated and held accountable,” said Dixon. “Otherwise, they bear the same responsibility as if they were the ones who opened fire.”

The legal filing comes weeks after Israeli officials said they would not cooperate with an FBI investigation into the death of Abu Akleh, who was wearing a vest and helmet identifying her as a member of the press when she was shot in the head.

Nevertheless, at a press conference yesterday US State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed opposition to the involvement of the International Criminal Court, arguing that it was the wrong forum to seek accountability.

Pressed by reporters to explain what the US government would consider to be the proper forum, he answered that “when we’ve spoken about accountability in this context… we have talked about procedures and processes that the [Israel Defense Forces], as a professional military outfit, would be able to institute on its own, whether it is in terms of rules of engagement; whether its in terms of broader protections for noncombatants and civilian life.”

The implication is the US position is that “accountability” for the potential murder of a US citizen lay entirely within the institution that is being accused of the murder, and that no international institutions have any role to play.

For his part, Israel National Security Minister-designate Itamar Ben-Gvir responded, “Al-Jazeera is an anti-Semitic and false propaganda network that works against the state of Israel in the world. They should be expelled from the country today and the anti-Israeli campaign of lies should be stopped from within Israel.”

Israel earlier conducted an internal investigation which found the origin of the bullet that killed the veteran Al-Jazeera journalist could not be determined because it was too damaged, suggesting that Palestinian forces might have fired the bullet.

Other investigations—including a US-led forensic and ballistic probe and one by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights—found that Israeli forces may have unintentionally fired the weapon that killed Abu Akleh; while an independent investigation by Forensic Architecture in the United Kingdom and the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq concluded that the Israel Defense Forces had intentionally killed the journalist.

Dixon said the International Criminal Court should consider the lawsuit “in the context of a wider attack on Al Jazeera, and journalists in Palestine,” referring to the bombing of a building that housed Associated Press and Al-Jazeera offices in May 2021.

“It’s not a single incident, it’s a killing that is part of a wider pattern that the prosecution should be investigating to identify those who are responsible for the killing, and to bring charges against them,” said Dixon.

Originally published at Common Dreams. Republished by cc by-sa 3.0. Edits for style and content.

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