In September 2022, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published the results of an internal investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin four months earlier. “There is a high possibility that Ms Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen,” read the summary of the investigation. The IDF expressed “its deep condolences” over her death. “The freedom of the press and maintaining the safety of journalists are part of the primary components of Israeli democracy, which the IDF is committed to upholding,” it added.
This statement had little to do with the facts. Not only did numerous independent investigations indicate that Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli soldiers (a claim which the Israeli army initially denied, saying “there is a possibility, now being looked into, that reporters were hit – possibly by shots fired by Palestinian gunmen)”, but the New York Times also reported after reviewing the scene that “there were no armed Palestianians near her when she was shot”. A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, published a year later, found that no Israeli soldier was charged in the killing of 20 journalists – 18 of them Palestinian – in the West Bank and Gaza between 2001 and 2023, making the IDF’s purported commitment to the freedom of the press look deprived of any real meaning.
