Following the first conclusions of the preliminary investigation conducted by the Israeli army into the death in mid-May of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank, the American television channel CNN announced on Tuesday 24 May, gathering new evidence damning the Israeli defense.
The 51-year-old Palestinian-American, Christian, Al-Jazeera news channel reporter was particularly known for her coverage of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. She had traveled to Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on the morning of May 11 to follow armed clashes that had erupted during a new raid by the Israeli army on a refugee camp in the city.
These military interventions have increased since the beginning of April, after several attacks, in which Israelis and foreigners were killed, were perpetrated by Palestinians. This Wednesday, May 11, Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by a bullet that hit her in the head. Witnesses, Palestinian officials and his employer accused the Israeli army of being behind the shooting.
The almost completely deconstructed Israeli defense
The latter, as well as the Israeli government, strongly defended it. The Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, even affirmed that the responsibility for « Armed Palestinians » in the “unfortunate death of the journalist” was » likely « . The preliminary investigation, for its part, established that if one of these soldiers had fired the bullet that killed Mme Abu Akleh, he did not appear guilty of a crime, in particular because the journalist was, at the time of his death, « in the middle of an intense combat zone ».
A defense that an investigation conducted by CNN – in particular from two videos of the scene, an audio analysis and the expertise of an explosive weapons professional – deconstructed almost entirely. More: the American channel even claims that the journalist was killed in a targeted attack carried out by the Israeli army.
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Several videos, seen by CNN, show four journalists – Shireen Abu Akleh, Shatha Hanaysha, Mujahid al-Saadi, and Al-Jazeera producer Ali al-Samoudi – chatting with residents, attracted by their presence near the roundabout. point Awdeh, at the entrance to the Jenin refugee camp. All wore bulletproof vests stamped « press ». It was “a normal morning in Jenin”testified residents to the chain.
On the videos, the atmosphere is calm, and no shots are heard before those who hit the journalist. Salim Awad, a resident of the refugee camp who was near reporters that morning, made a 16-minute video showing that the streets were quiet. He also claimed that there were no armed Palestinians or ongoing clashes near the journalists.
Military vehicles positioned 200 meters away
‘We faced the Israeli army vehicles for five to 10 minutes before moving forward, to make sure they had seen us’, explains one of the journalists present, Shatha Hanaysha, adding that it was a technique common to many reporters in the region to signify who they are to the military. In the video filmed by Mr. Awad, military vehicles can be seen in the distance, with a clear view of the position of the group of journalists. “We saw four or five military vehicles on that street, with guns sticking out, and one of them shot Shireen”says the young resident.
Other videos, studied by CNN, show these same vehicles from different angles. This visual evidence includes images from an on-board camera on an Israeli soldier’s chest. We clearly see five military vehicles parked one behind the other on the same street as the one where the journalist was killed, just south of her position.
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CNN asked Robert Maher, a professor and forensic expert in audio analysis, to estimate, based on footage recorded by the Al-Jazeera cameraman – who filmed the entire scene except for the moment the bullet hits the journalist – the distance between him and the shooter. In the video, the first sound, coming from the shock wave at the start of the bullet, is followed, 309 milliseconds later, by a « bang », when the bullet hits its target.
« This corresponds to a distance that can vary between 177 and 197 meters », according to Maher, is almost exactly the distance between the group and the army vehicles. The CNN team geolocated the position of the Israeli forces, which was confirmed by the Israeli preliminary investigation report.
A targeted attack, not random gunshots
A final piece of information revealed by CNN comes from the study of the impacts that the bullets fired at the group of reporters left on the trunk of a tree, at the foot of which the journalist was standing. Chris Cobb-Smith, security consultant, British Army veteran and explosive weapons expert, says Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in a series of separate shots, not by an automatic burst.
“The number of bullet holes on the trunk of the tree […] proves it wasn’t a random shot, she was targeted. », Mr. Cobb-Smith told CNN. At a distance of about 200 meters, there was » no chance « according to him, so that a random burst results in three or four shots hitting the same narrow target, such as the trunk of a tree.
This analysis also refutes the Israeli argument that the journalist was hit by Palestinian fire.
Videos, dating from the same day, document many violent actions, showing Palestinian men strafing the streets at random in different places in Jenin.
Those images were shared by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Officethe latter claiming that the video suggested that “It was Palestinian terrorists who killed the journalist”. However, CNN located these images south of the Jenin camp, more than 300 meters from M’s position.me Abu Akleh. Information that allows the channel to affirm that these Palestinian shots, which the Israeli government uses for its defense, cannot be those which hit the journalist and her group.