Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Monday called a “mistake” the US investigation into the May death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, whom the Israeli military is accused of killing .
According to the American media Politico, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the death of Shireen Abu Akleh during an Israeli army operation on May 11.
An unusual decision given the relations between the two countries, taken after the Israeli army refused to prosecute the soldier accused of having killed her.
The FBI refused to confirm or deny the existence of this investigation, but the minister Benny Gantz indicated that the army would not cooperate.
“The US Department of Justice’s decision to investigate the tragic death of Shireen Abu Akleh is wrong,” he wrote in a tweet.
The Israeli armed forces conducted an “independent and professional” investigation, and shared details with US officials, he said.
“I conveyed the message to US representatives that we stand with Israeli army soldiers and that we will not cooperate with an external investigation, and will not allow interference in internal investigations,” added The Minister.
Wearing a bulletproof vest with the words “press” and a helmet, the star journalist of Al Jazeera was killed by a bullet in the head while covering an Israeli military raid in the camp of refugees from Jenin in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
The Israeli army first acknowledged in September that there was a “strong possibility” that the journalist was killed by one of its soldiers.
The spokesman for American diplomacy, Ned Price, had underlined at the time “the importance of determining the responsibilities in this case”, to prevent such a tragedy from repeating itself.
But, a few days later, the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, Yaïr Lapid, said he was opposed to the soldier accused of having fired being prosecuted.