The United Nations sees strong evidence that journalist Shirin Abu Akle, who was killed in the West Bank, was shot by an Israeli soldier. This emerges from an analysis of video material and the questioning of witnesses and experts, said a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. “We have not found any information indicating that there was any activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists.”
The journalist Abu Akle from the TV station Al Jazeera was killed a few weeks ago during an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the northern West Bank. Her death and police violence at her funeral in Jerusalem had caused international consternation. According to the Israeli army, it is not clear where the fatal shot came from.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet called on the Israeli authorities to conduct a full and thorough investigation into the incident, the spokeswoman said. This also applies to the 58 Palestinians who, according to the UN count, have been killed by Israeli soldiers since the beginning of the year. “The perpetrators must be held accountable,” it said.
