Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Wednesday evening, September 7, he opposed the prosecution of the soldier who shot the American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, of the Al Jazeera channel, killed on May 11 in the West Bank. busy.
“
I will not allow a soldier who protected himself from terrorist fire to be prosecuted just to obtain congratulations from abroad
,” Yair Lapid declared during a military ceremony.
"
I hear the calls to prosecute soldiers after the death of Shireen Abu Akleh...no one will impose our rules on us when we are fighting for our lives...our soldiers have the full support of the government
," added Yair Lapid.
Read alsoUN accuses Israel of killing Shireen Abu Akleh
These statements come after the United States recalled "
the importance of accountability
" in the Shireen Abu Akleh case.
“
The United States will continue to encourage our Israeli partners to carefully review their rules of engagement (for soldiers)
policies,” US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said on Tuesday.
He also called on Israel to “
consider
” “
additional measures to minimize the risk of harm to civilians, protect journalists and prevent such tragedies from happening again
.”
On Monday, the Israeli army acknowledged "
a strong possibility
" of having killed, but not deliberately, Shireen Abu Akleh, a half-hearted admission decried by the journalist's family and supporters.
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The Al Jazeera star was shot in the head on May 11 while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. After the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, equipped with a bulletproof vest with the mention "
press
" and a helmet, the Palestinian Authority and her employer Al Jazeera immediately accused the Israeli army of having killed her.
Israel's military prosecutor's office said on Monday that "
there was no suspicion of a criminal act warranting the initiation of a criminal investigation by the military police
", despite the "
high probability
" that Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli soldiers.
Earlier in the day, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides expressed his shock at the journalist's death during a meeting in Jerusalem with representatives of the foreign press.
"
My heart breaks for her
," he said.
The UN and various media maintain that the fatal shot came from the weapon of an Israeli soldier, a scenario deemed "
likely
" by the United States, which assessed the bullet but nevertheless ruled out the hypothesis of a deliberate shooting. .