Palestinian Inquiry into He has been determined to have been deliberately killed by Israeli forces as he tried to flee, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced.
This result echoed the results of the initial investigation announced almost two weeks ago and was widely expected. Rejecting the findings, Defense Secretary Penny Kants called them “blatant lies.”
Abu Agle, He was shot in the head during an Israeli military offensive in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on May 11.
Witnesses and Palestinian officials say she was attacked by Israeli gunmen. Israel says it was shot during a battle between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants. The Palestinian Authority (PA) claims that only a ballistic analysis of the bulletin could determine who fired the shots.
Announcing the results of his investigation at a news conference in Ramallah, Palestinian Attorney General Akram al-Ghadeeb said he had determined that there were no militants in the immediate area around Abu Agle.
“The shooting was carried out only by the occupation forces with the intention of killing,” he said.
Abu Akle was also part of a group of journalists who wore helmets and protective clothing marked “press”. Ghadeeb said the military had seen the journalists and knew they were journalists.
He accused Abu Agle of shooting him “directly and deliberately” as he tried to escape. He reiterated the Palestinian position that the bullet would not be handed over to the Israelis for inspection. [Israel] A new lie “.
Ghadeeb said his investigation was conducted on the basis of interviews with witnesses, examination of the scene and forensic medical report.
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In a speech later Thursday, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohawi, head of the Israeli security forces’ civil service, said he did not know who fired the bullets and called on the Palestinians to cooperate “at the grassroots.” What happened.
“But there is one thing that can be determined for sure,” he said. “No soldier deliberately fired on a journalist. We inquired. We checked it out. That is the result. Nothing else.
Israel has denied targeting journalists, citing two possible scenarios in which Abu Agle was shot dead by Palestinian militants who fired indiscriminately at an Israeli military convoy or by an Israeli gunman who targeted a nearby militant. The military has identified the gun used in that situation, but says the bullet must be tested to make a final decision.
An altercation of AP events gave support to witnesses who claim he was shot dead by Israeli troops, even though he was wearing a helmet and pants, clearly identifying himself as the media. But Reconstruction said a definitive finding could not be made without further forensic analysis.
Palestinian witnesses said there were no militants or clashes anywhere near Abu Agle. The only known militants in the area were on the other side of the convoy 300 meters from his position.
Unlike the convoy, which was about 200 meters away on the long straight road, they had no direct view.
Israel has publicly called for a joint investigation with the PA, including US involvement. But two weeks after Abu Agle’s death, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday it had not received any formal request for help from either side.
The PA has refused to cooperate with Israel, saying it cannot trust Israel to investigate its own behavior. Rights groups say Israel has a poor record of conducting investigations when security forces shoot Palestinians, months before the cases end peacefully.
Palestinian High Commissioner Hussein al-Sheikh said Thursday’s report would be shared with the US administration. Copies will be given to Abu Agle’s family and them he said.
The Palestinians say they will share their findings with the international community, including the International Criminal Court, which launched an investigation into Israeli war crimes last year. Israel denied that the trial was against it and did not cooperate.
The serious distrust is that the Israeli and Palestinian inquiries into Abu Agle’s death are coming out separately, and no other decision can be accepted.
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