Al Jazeera hands ICC purported proof IDF ‘deliberately’ killed reporter Abu Akleh

Qatar-based television network Al Jazeera on Tuesday submitted what it said was detailed evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, allegedly proving that the Israel Defense Forces deliberately shot dead its reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during clashes in the West Bank in May, Report informs via the Jerusalem Post.

In a statement, Al Jazeera said it “will today submit the case of Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing by Israeli Occupation Forces to the International Criminal Court,” adding that its reporters and legal team will hold a press conference in the Dutch city alongside “members of Shireen’s family and leading journalists and human rights experts.”

An AFP journalist saw a lawyer representing Al Jazeera’s case entering the ICC’s headquarters to hand over their submission.

Abu Akleh’s family filed an official complaint to the ICC in September. The court’s Office of the Prosecutor will presumably determine whether to launch an investigation into the case.

After the complaint in September, the IDF told The Times of Israel that it rejects the claim that Abu Akleh was shot intentionally and said the establishment of a new investigation would be “biased and misleading.”

The 51-year-old journalist, who was wearing a vest marked “Press” and a helmet, was killed during clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen while covering a military operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on May 11, amid a wider IDF terror crackdown, according to the official account provided by the IDF.

While the Israeli army conducted its own investigation and acknowledged the bullet the killed her was “in very high likelihood” shot from an IDF gun, it has firmly rejected allegations that the veteran journalist was deliberately targeted.