Two women shot dead show weakness of Israeli army investigations
A boy holds a picture of Shireen Abu Aqleh during a protest in the southern Gaza Strip, June 2022
Bethan McKernanreports in The Guardian:
In August 2020, 23-year-old Dalia Samoudi was killed when a bullet came through the window of her home in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, during an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) raid on a nearby house.
Al Jazeera reported on the incident, in which witnesses said she had been killed by an IDF soldier firing in the direction of Palestinians throwing stones. Two years later, the television network would report on the death of its longtime correspondent, Shireen Abu Aqleh, in nearly the same spot.
Again, witnesses said the deadly fire came from Israeli soldiers – although this time only journalists and IDF personnel were present. Abu Aqleh, 51, who was wearing a protective vest and helmet marked “press”, was shot below the ear.
Despite the overwhelming circumstantial evidence suggesting the IDF was responsible for the two women’s deaths, in both cases Israel initially blamed Palestinian militants.
“I was standing next to her when it happened,” said Samoudi, 30. “Dalia was feeding the baby. She went to shut the window to shut the teargas out. “The Palestinians in the street were not carrying guns. It is very clear what happened. But two years later, the investigation is still going on and I have no idea what [the Israelis] are doing.”
According to army data released under Israel’s freedom of information act and analysed by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organisation, Israeli forces have near-total impunity from prosecution in cases in which Palestinians were harmed by IDF soldiers.