Occupied Jerusalem -

The aspiration of the Israeli Military Prosecution to not open a criminal investigation into the circumstances of the assassination of the martyr journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, by an Israeli sniper during her field work in Jenin camp, reflects the occupation's approach to concealing the facts about the shooting incidents committed by its soldiers against the Palestinians.

Human rights organizations in Israel and researchers leveled strong criticism at the Israeli establishment in its handling of the circumstances of the assassination of Abu Aqila, and they were unanimously agreed that the refusal to open an investigation by the Israeli army reflects the occupation authorities’ approach of procrastination, evasion and alteration of accounts, with the aim of blurring the facts and trying to empty the investigation file of its content. .

Palestinian women carrying posters of the martyr journalist Sherine Abu Aqleh (Al Jazeera)

"Examination of my operations" without investigation

The latest trend refers to the failures in the investigation mechanism of the Israeli Military Prosecution into hundreds of violations and the files of killing hundreds of Palestinians by the occupation bullets, as the vast majority of them were closed even before the investigation was exhausted, without accountability or accountability for soldiers and officers.

Data from Palestinian human rights associations and human rights organizations in Israel, including Yesh Din - Volunteers for Human Rights - and the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories B'Tselem show that since the Al-Aqsa Intifada in October 2000, Israel has satisfied itself with what It calls it an "operational examination" of the killing of 47 Palestinians only, without its Military Prosecution opening in-depth investigations into the circumstances of their killing, while no soldier or officer was brought to trial.

The Israeli human rights associations that document the occupation’s violations and attacks on the Palestinians, and monitor the Israeli Military Prosecution’s follow-up on complaints and files, affirm that the military law enforcement system has completely failed and turned into a system aimed at blurring the facts, which indicates that the Israeli military apparatus does not have the ability to conduct professional and transparent investigations. and fair.

Military Prosecutor Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi refrains from issuing instructions to open an investigation into the assassination of journalist Abu Akleh at the Military Police Investigations Unit, claiming that there are no criminal suspicions, according to the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz.

The Israeli military establishment believes that such an investigation would provoke internal opposition and controversy in the army and Israeli society, as well as in the government and at the political level.


Not interested in investigation

Commenting on the conflicting accounts broadcast by the Israeli occupation army regarding the circumstances of the assassination of Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Aqleh, the Executive Director of Yesh Din, Ziv Shatal, asked, "Who is investigating the failures of the investigation teams in the Military Police and the Israeli Military Prosecution system?"

Shatal told Al Jazeera Net that harming and targeting journalists during their field work and performing their duty represents a "very dangerous case", stressing that "the killing of journalist Abu Aqila should not be underestimated, and the investigation must be exhausted and those who fired and whoever gave orders to do so must be prosecuted."

The director of Yesh Din stated that the refusal of the Military Prosecution and the Military Police to open a criminal investigation into the circumstances of the killing of journalist Abu Aqleh reflects the experiences in previous files and the rich history of the Israeli military judicial system, which was sham investigations of the files of killing Palestinians by Israeli soldiers' fire, as the vast majority of them were closed The facts were obliterated without accountability or punishment.

Shatal confirmed that the approach and practices of the Israeli military establishment and the military law system have proven in dozens of dangerous files, which included the killing of Palestinians by the fire of some soldiers and officers, that it is unable to investigate itself, and is not interested in investigating soldiers and officers involved in violations committed against the Palestinians, which is why it demands "Yesh Din." Opening an international investigation and bringing the killers of Abu Aqila to justice.

International Law Professor Youssef Jabarin questions the seriousness of the Israeli army's investigations (Al-Jazeera)

Provide immunity to its soldiers

Human rights activist and professor of international law, Dr. Yousef Jabareen, says that the occupation authorities do not conduct any serious investigations into complaints submitted to them against security forces and soldiers in order to provide them with immunity, and delay in addressing complaints to the point of neglect in order to cover up crimes committed against Palestinians.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Jabarin questioned the seriousness of the initial investigations of the Israeli army into the circumstances of the assassination of Abu Aqila, and considered it an Israeli attempt to gain time and procrastinate by promoting contradictory and changing narratives with the aim of confusing and obliterating the facts and folding the file that is limited to the investigation with only one soldier.

The professor of international law stressed the need for the International Criminal Court to exercise its influence in the file of the assassination of Abu Aqila, especially since human rights reports confirm the systematic absence of accountability by the Israeli military prosecution, and the dedication of investigation patterns and treatment mechanisms that work to obliterate the crimes of its soldiers.


fake investigations

According to the human rights organization Yesh Din, the Palestinians submitted 400 complaints against murders committed by the occupation between 2017 and 2018, where only 3 indictments were submitted, and 80% of the complaints were closed without even opening an investigation file, although they include cases of killing and serious injuries. Shot by occupation soldiers.

Yousef Jabarin explained that these statistics are added to data related to hundreds of files documented by the B'Tselem Human Rights Center until 2016, the vast majority of which were closed without indictments against soldiers and officers.

Jabareen stressed that the experiences and data regarding the Military Prosecution's approach to fictitious investigations into complaints and files related to the occupation soldiers' involvement in the shooting and killing of Palestinians, dispel Israeli allegations that it is conducting investigations with soldiers and officers.

Accordingly, the professor of international law says, "Israel cannot claim before the International Criminal Court that it is acting in accordance with what is stipulated in international law, and therefore the international court is required to reject these allegations and to open investigations into the crimes of the occupation soldiers' killing of Palestinians."

Analyst and researcher in Israeli affairs, Muhammad Majadleh, believes that the investigation into the assassination of Abu Aqila will deepen the crises of the Israeli government (Al-Jazeera)

Mitigating the government crisis

On the political level, political analyst and researcher in the Israeli affairs, Muhammad Majadleh, says that "the Israeli army, by refraining from investigating the assassination of Abu Aqila, seeks to evade responsibility, as it does not want to investigate a file that could incriminate him, and thus drop any responsibility on him."

Majadleh explained to Al Jazeera Net that the military police's tendency not to open a criminal investigation reflects a policy rooted in various Israeli institutions that refrain from applying the law in serious and controversial files and issues in Israeli society, and providing immunity to law enforcement authorities, whether the police, the army, the Ministry of Justice and the Public Prosecution.

Israel seeks by refraining from the investigation, according to Mujadalah, “to reduce the state of tension that can produce and dominate the political level, so that the establishment of an investigation committee will be an Israeli controversy and will turn into a tool of political competition between the opposition and the government coalition, and it is not excluded that the debate will lead to the expansion of Disagreements, schisms, and deepening the crises of the already unstable and fragile government coalition.