DUBAI (RockedBuzz via Reuters) – Al Jazeera said on Tuesday it had filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot during an Israeli raid on the West Bank in May.
The presentation followed an investigation by the television news network’s legal team, Al Jazeera said on Twitter.
The ICC needs to identify the people who were directly involved in the killing of Abu Akleh, Al Jazeera lawyer Rodney Dixon KC said at a news conference in The Hague on Tuesday.
The ICC Prosecutor’s Office has been investigating possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) or Palestinian groups in the Palestinian territories since March 2021. It confirmed on Tuesday that it had received a communication by Al Jazeera Network media.
“Any individual or group may send information (communications) about alleged crimes to the ICC Prosecutor, who has a duty to protect the confidentiality of the information received,” a statement read.
“We do not provide comments on individual submissions.”
The circumstances of Abu Akleh’s killing are disputed.
Palestinian officials and Abu Akleh’s family said they believed she was killed deliberately by Israeli forces and rejected Israeli claims that there were militants around her whereabouts.
The Israeli military said in September that it was likely unintentionally shot by an Israeli soldier, but may also have been hit by Palestinian fire.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday: “No one will interrogate IDF soldiers and no one will lecture us on combat morale, certainly not the Al Jazeera network.”
(Reporting by Lina Najem, Riham Alkousaa and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Howard Goller)
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