Israel will not hold prison inquiry into killing of journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh | Israel

Israel will not launch a criminal investigation into the killing of the US-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, which Palestinian officials and witnesses have blamed on Israeli troopers.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Israel Protection Forces claimed that because Abu Aqleh was killed in an “active fight situation”, a right away prison investigation would not be launched, although an “operational inquiry” would continue.

In response to a report in the Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli military police department has accepted the assurances of Israeli troops that they were not aware she was in a village adjacent to the Jenin refugee camp when she was killed on 11 May.

The Biden administration and the UN safety council have referred to as for a transparent investigation.

Abu Aqleh was a family identify throughout the Arab world, known for documenting the hardship of Palestinian life underneath Israeli rule for Al Jazeera. Her killing obtained widespread worldwide coverage and prompted criticism from the White House.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, promised her family that Washington would demand that her dying be correctly investigated.

Abu Aqleh was killed throughout an arrest raid by an Israeli commando unit on Palestinian militants.

In line with Haaretz, the head of the Commando Brigade, Col Meni Liberty, identified six occasions in the course of the raid when Israeli troopers opened fireplace, allegedly at armed Palestinians who had been close to Abu Aqleh and different journalists.

The Israeli military had previously released an account that mentioned it could not unequivocally determine the source of the bullet that killed Abu Aqleh. That account speculated that the bullet might have been fired by both a Palestinian militant or an Israeli soldier using a “telescopic scope” at 200 metres.

Palestinian officials have refused to offer the recovered bullet to Israeli authorities to analyse however said it welcomed international investigations.

The choice by the Israeli navy advocate general, Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, to not order an investigation by the military police felony investigation division marks a departure from nearly all of latest incidents involving IDF shootings of civilians within the occupied West Financial institution, which have been adopted by investigations.

At her funeral on Friday police beat mourners carrying her casket, prompting extra criticism of Israeli authorities.

Final week the UN excessive commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, complained about a lack of Israeli accountability for deaths in the occupied territories.

Commenting on Abu Aqleh’s killing and the next violence at her funeral, Bachelet said: “As I've referred to as for a lot of occasions before, there should be applicable investigations into the actions of Israeli security forces.

“Anybody discovered accountable should be held to account with penal and disciplinary sanctions commensurate to the gravity of the violation. This tradition of impunity must finish now.”

The Israeli NGO Yesh Din criticised the decision to not investigate, saying that “the military law enforcement mechanisms not even bother to provide the looks of investigating”.

More than 100 artists, including Hollywood stars, acclaimed authors and prominent musicians, have meanwhile signed a joint letter condemning Abu Aqleh’s killing.

Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and Tilda Swinton have been among the signatories to a letter revealed by Artists for Palestine UK that referred to as for “full accountability for the perpetrators of this crime and everyone involved in authorising it”.

The Israel Defence Forces launched a press release on Thursday claiming that “dozens of Palestinian gunmen fired recklessly and indiscriminately while IDF soldiers have been conducting counter-terrorism actions within the Jenin camp” on the day that Abu Aqleh died.

“An change of fire occurred between Palestinian gunmen and the troopers. Toward the tip of the exercise, the journalist Shireen Abu [Aqleh], who was current at the battle zone throughout the exchange of fire, was hit.

“Because of the nature of the energetic combat scenario, a direct [military criminal] investigation was not launched. A call relating to the necessity of an … investigation might be decided by the navy advocacy, in accordance with the findings of the still-ongoing operational inquiry, as is commonplace in such circumstances.”

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The police department decision came a day after Israeli authorities stated they've given the go-ahead for flag-waving Jewish nationalists to march via the guts of the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Outdated City later this month, in a call that threatens to re-ignite violence within the holy city.

The office of the general public security minister, Omer Barlev, said the march would happen on 29 May along its “customary route” by means of Damascus Gate, which is an Arab neighbourhood.

The Previous City, located in East Jerusalem, has experienced weeks of violent confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators, and the march threatens to trigger new unrest.