Israeli security forces fired bullets that killed journalist Shirin Abu Akleh in May, according to a UN report.
Abu Aqle, an Al Jazeera correspondent, was shot dead on May 11 while covering an attack in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The UN report says that shortly after 6 am, seven journalists arrived at the refugee camp in Jenin. Half an hour later, the group of reporters turned to the street and were fired upon by Israeli forces.
“A single bullet wounded Ali Samudi in the shoulder; “A single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly,” the report said.
Another Al-Quds journalist, Ali Sammudi, was also shot and wounded in the incident.
“We find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from the Israeli security forces,” UN Office for Human Rights spokesman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
“It is deeply worrying that the Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation.
“We at the UN Office of Human Rights have completed the independent monitoring of the incident.
“The shots that killed Abu Aqle and wounded her colleague Ali Sammudi came from the Israeli security forces, not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as the Israeli authorities initially claimed,” she said.
Ms. Shamdasani added that the UN’s monitoring of the incident included a review of photos, video and audio.
It also visited the scene, consulted with experts, reviewed official announcements and questioned witnesses, she added.
In a statement in response to UN findings, Israel insisted it was impossible to say who fired the shots and that there was an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed men.
“Even after the incident, ID [Israel Defence Forces] investigate and review the circumstances surrounding the death of Ms. Abu Akleh, “the statement said.
“The IDF investigation clearly concludes that Ms. Abu Akle was not intentionally shot by an IDF soldier and that it is not possible to determine whether she was killed by a Palestinian gunman shooting indiscriminately in her area or inadvertently by IDF soldier.
Israeli and Palestinian officials exchanged accusations of the incident, which escalated tensions. Israel has denied that any of its soldiers “targeted a journalist.”
An earlier investigation by the Palestinian Authority concluded that Israeli forces deliberately shot and killed the experienced reporter.
The incident drew strong worldwide condemnation, which then escalated as Israeli forces attacked a crowd of mourners carrying Abu Akle’s coffin.
The pandemonium nearly prompted the gravediggers to release the coffin during a May 14 march in East Jerusalem.
Footage shared on social media showed thousands mourning the event carrying Palestinian flags as they transported the body of a respected journalist from France’s St. Louis Hospital in the Sheikh Jara district.
Video footage then showed Israeli security forces attacking a number of people at the funeral, including kicking and beating them with batons.
Additional reporting by agencies
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