Shireen Abu Aqleh - What Israel Should have said

 (With thanks to Israellycool)

On the morning of May 11, 2022, IDF, ISA, and Border police forces conducted counterterrorism activity in the Jenin Camp and other locations in Judea and Samaria to apprehend terrorist suspects. This was a response to the murders of 19 Israelis at the hands of Palestinian terrorists since March, and the least our democratic country can do to protect its civilians – whether they be Jewish, Muslim or Christian.

A democratic country that also safeguards the freedom of the press.

During the course of intense firefights in Jenin, Al Jazeera 
journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh was tragically killed. We believe 
it was highly likely she was killed by the terrorists we were 
engaged with, given a number of factors, including:

• The relative locations of our forces, the terrorists, and Shireen Abu Aqleh
• The care our forces take to avoid civilian casualties vs the lack of care of the terrorists, who have a track record in using their own people as human shields
• Video footage showing the indiscriminate way in which the terrorists were firing at IDF positions, including right before Shireen Abu Aqleh was shown to have been killed

Despite the fact we believe it was more likely she was killed by 
the terrorists, we understand only a comprehensive, joint 
investigation may uncover what actually happened. We have 
expressed our desire to cooperate with all parties in order to 
get to the bottom as to how exactly she was killed. Unfortunately, 
the PA have refused to cooperate, which beggars the question: 
are they trying to hide something?

To those who are accusing Israel of having assassinated 
Shireen Abu Aqleh, we ask you these questions:

• Are you in possession of any information that even the Director of the Palestinian Forensic Medicine Institute – who publicly stated that the initial autopsy results were inconclusive – is not?
• Why were you silent over the cold-blooded murders of 19 innocent people that necessitated our operation in Jenin to begin with?
• Why have you been silent over the deaths of 20 journalists killed so far in the Russian war in the Ukraine?
• Why is it that you seem to dispense with the presumption of innocence when it comes to the Jewish state?

By rushing to act as judge, jury and executioner, your actions 
do nothing to help bring about peace. On the contrary, you provide 
an added incentive for the terrorists to target our innocent people 
while showing scant regard for their own. Instead, we encourage 
you to implore the PA to refrain from disrupting or contaminating 
the investigation, and co-operate with us in order to allow 
Shireen Abu Aqleh‘s family to find justice.