IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari was interviewed on CNN on Thursday and mentioned, among other things, the anniversary of the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin.
In his comments, Hagari apologized for the first time on behalf of the IDF for the death of Abu Akleh.
“I think this is an opportunity for me to say here that we are very sorry for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh,” Hagari said in the interview with the American network.
Israel values a free press
“She was a very established journalist. In Israel we value our democracy, and in democracy we see a high value in journalism and a free press. We want journalists to feel safe, especially in wartime, even if they criticize us,” he continued.
Last September the IDF published the full investigation into the incident in Jenin, during which Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh died in May of last year.
A portrait of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed during an Israeli raid, is displayed during a special mass in her memory in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, May 16, 2022. (credit: MUSSA QAWASMA/REUTERS)A senior official in the IDF emphasized regarding the investigation that “it is not possible to determine the source of the shooting from which the journalist was hit.” He explained: “We conducted additional tests, and expert officers also checked aspects of sound and ballistics.”
From the investigation emerged that the fighters from the IDF Duvdevan unit entered on foot, when fire was opened against them and at the army vehicles, as they entered the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp.
The investigation also revealed that shots were fired at the fighters for about an hour and a quarter, from the beginning of the operation to the end.
A senior officer noted that “some of the fire that was fired was accurate, and at the same time charges were also thrown at the soldiers.”
The IDF stated that “although the conclusion is not unequivocal, after examining all the circumstances, it appears that there is a higher chance that Abu Akleh was killed by an IDF fighter.”
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