Al-Jazeera / September 7, 2022
Soldiers have ‘full backing’ of Israeli government,’ Yair Lapid says regarding killing of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid has pushed back against suggestions of prosecuting a soldier who likely shot dead Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while she was covering an Israeli army operation in the occupied West Bank in May.
The veteran Al-Jazeera reporter was wearing a bulletproof vest marked “Press” and a helmet when she was shot in the head in the Jenin refugee camp. Her killing caused global outrage and calls for an independent investigation.
The Israeli army conceded on Monday for the first time that one of its soldiers had likely shot Abu Akleh, after having mistaken her for a fighter. It had initially blamed Palestinian gunmen for her killing.
“There is a high possibility that Ms Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by [Israeli military] gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen,” said the army’s final report into her May 11 death.
The acknowledgement came after months in which the army had insisted it was impossible to determine the source of the deadly shot that killed the celebrated Al Jazeera journalist.
“I will not allow an [Israeli military] soldier that was protecting himself from terrorist fire to be prosecuted just to receive applause from abroad,” Lapid told a military ceremony.
“No one will dictate our rules of engagement to us,” he said. “Our soldiers have the full backing of the government of Israel and the people of Israel.”
US Department of State spokesman Vedant Patel had told a news briefing on Tuesday: “We’re going to continue to press our Israeli partners to closely review its policies and practices on rules of engagement and consider additional steps to mitigate the risk of civilian harm”.
A United Nations investigation concluded in June that there was “no evidence of activity by armed Palestinians close by” when Abu Akleh was shot.
Israel’s military advocate said on Monday that the circumstances of the incident “do not raise the suspicion of a crime having been committed which would justify the opening of a criminal investigation”.
The Palestinians have accused Israel of deliberately targeting Abu Akleh. Israel has denied this.
“Israel has expressed sorrow over her death. It was a tragedy that transpired in an incident in which there was heavy enemy fire. The [Israeli military] never intentionally shoots at innocent people,” Lapid said.
The Abu Akleh family said that Israel had “refused to take responsibility for the murder” of the journalist.
Al-Jazeera has denounced the findings of the Israeli investigation and demanded a probe by an “independent international body”.
US Department of State spokesman Ned Price on Monday underscored “the importance of accountability in this case … to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
‘Israel alone bears the responsibility’
Israel has stepped up its incursions into the occupied West Bank since a wave of deadly Palestinian street attacks in Israeli cities. In the latest such raid, on Wednesday, Israeli troops killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man.
As part of near-nightly sweeps, the army carried out arrests and searches in several locations including the village of Tubas, where it said an improvised explosive device was thrown and shots were fired at soldiers, who returned fire.
Islamic Jihad claimed the man killed, Younis Tayeh, as a member and said he had died during confrontations. Tayeh’s family denied he had taken part and said he was crossing the street when shot.
US-brokered peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem collapsed in 2014.
The diplomatic stagnation has contributed to the erosion of the credibility of the US-backed Palestinian Authority (PA), which has limited self-rule and security control in the West Bank.
Gantz said the PA should do more to rein in “militants”. “The spread of weapons and lack of governance are harming both the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority itself,” Gantz said.
The Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Wasel Abu Youssef described Gantz’s remarks as “desperate”.
“Israel alone bears the responsibility for the daily killings of our people,” he said.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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Israel rejects US call to review West Bank tactics
The National / September 8, 2022
Prime Minister Yair Lapid says ‘no one will dictate our rules of engagement to us’.
Israel on Wednesday rejected US calls to review rules of engagement in the occupied West Bank as it pressed on with a near-daily series of operations against militants in the area in which dozens of Palestinians have been killed.
“No one will dictate our rules of engagement to us, when we are the ones fighting for our lives,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said at a military ceremony in Haifa, echoing earlier remarks by Defence Minister Benny Gantz.
“I will not allow an IDF [army] soldier that was protecting himself from terrorist fire to be prosecuted just to receive applause from abroad,” Mr Lapid said. “No one will dictate our rules of engagement to us.
“Our soldiers have the full backing of the government of Israel and the people of Israel.”
The US State Department said on Tuesday that Washington will urge Israel to review rules of engagement practices after its military concluded that Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was probably shot unintentionally by an Israeli soldier.
State Department spokesman Ned Price on Monday underscored “the importance of accountability in this case … to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future”.
The Palestinians accused Israel of deliberately targeting Abu Akleh who was wearing a bulletproof vest marked “Press” and a helmet when she was shot in the head during the army operation in Jenin refugee camp, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on May 11.
The Israeli army on Monday conceded for the first time that one of its soldiers had probably shot Abu Akleh after having mistaken her for a militant.
“Israel has expressed sorrow over the journalist’s death. It was a tragedy that transpired in an incident in which there was heavy enemy fire … the [Israeli forces] never intentionally shoot at innocent people,” Mr Lapid said.
Israel has stepped up its incursions into the West Bank since a wave of deadly Palestinian street attacks in Israeli cities. In the latest such raid, on Wednesday, Israeli troops killed a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
As part of near-nightly security sweeps, the army carried out arrests and searches in several locations, including the village of Tubas, where it said an improvised explosive device was thrown and shots were fired at soldiers, who returned fire.
Islamic Jihad said the man killed, Younis Tayeh, was a member and had died during clashes. Tayeh’s family denied he had taken part and said he was crossing the street when shot.
In a separate incident, the military said a Palestinian used a hammer to attack a soldier who “responded with live fire and neutralized the suspect”.
US-brokered peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem collapsed in 2014.
The diplomatic stagnation has helped to erode the credibility of the US-backed Palestinian Authority (PA), which has limited self-rule and security control in the West Bank.
Mr Gantz said the PA should do more to rein in militants. “The spread of weapons and lack of governance are harming the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority itself,” Mr Gantz said.
The Palestine Liberation Organization’s Wasel Abu Youssef described Mr Gantz’s remarks as “desperate”. “Israel alone bears the responsibility for the daily killings of our people,” he said.
