Film claims to name killer of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist known for her coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict, was shot dead in Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank while she worked, wearing a bulletproof vest marked "press."
Al Jazeera and witnesses immediately blamed the Israeli army. Then Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said it was probable the shots had come from Palestinian militants.
In the weeks that followed, several journalistic investigations pointed the blame at Israeli gunfire.
Months later, Israel released an internal investigation that found a "high probability" that Abu Akleh was accidentally shot by the Israeli army, which claimed it was targeting armed Palestinians.
Produced by independent news site Zeteo, the documentary "Who killed Shireen?" names for the first time the suspect as Alon Scaggio, an elite soldier.
"Israel did everything it could to conceal the soldier's identity, they wouldn't provide the US with any information. They wouldn't let the US interview him. They wouldn't give the US his statement. And they wouldn't give his name," said Dion Nissenbaum, a journalist who worked on the film.
Assisted by producer Conor Powell and reporter Fatima AbdulKarim -- who worked for The New York Times in the West Bank -- Nissenbaum, a former Wall Street Journal correspondent, consulted testimony from two Israeli soldiers present in Jenin on May 11, 2022 as well as top US officials.
'Intentional killing' claim
The documentary alleges that Scaggio, then 20, had completed training for the elite Duvdevan unit just three months prior.
"He shot her intentionally. There's no question about that. The question is did he know she was a journalist and did he know she was Shireen Abu Akleh? Was it an order from above?" Nissenbaum told AFP.
"Personally, I don't think it was an order. I don't think he knew it was Shireen. Nobody ever has indicated that he could tell that it was Shireen. But she was wearing the blue flak-jacket with the word 'press' on it."
"The evidence (suggests)... it was an intentional killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. Whether or not they knew it was her or not can very well be debated, but they would have absolutely known that it was a media person or a non-combatant at a minimum," said a senior official from the administration of then US president Joe Biden, speaking in the film anonymously.
Washington did not exert significant pressure on the issue, the documentary claims, for fear of antagonizing its ally.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said he called on Biden to declassify documents about the killing -- but went unanswered.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said "it is the first time that a potential suspect has been named in connection with an Israeli killing of a journalist" according to its records dating back to 1992.
Impunity in the case "has effectively given Israel permission to silence hundreds more" journalists, the CPJ said.
Reporters Without Borders estimates around 200 journalists were killed in the past 18 months of Israeli strikes on Gaza.
An Israeli army spokesman condemned the unauthorized disclosure of the suspect's name despite no "definitive determination" of who shot Abu Akleh.
The soldier in question "fell during an operational activity," the army added.
Nissenbaum had initially thought Scaggio died in Gaza, but ultimately concluded he was killed in Jenin on June 27, 2024 almost two years after Abu Akleh.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
41 minutes ago
- France 24
EU backs 'cornerstone of international justice' after US sanctions ICC judges
The EU gave its backing on Friday to the International Criminal Court after Washington imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, and EU member Slovenia said it would push Brussels to use its power to ensure the US sanctions could not be enforced in Europe. EU member France also said it was renewing its call on the US to withdraw all sanctions against the court. 'The ICC holds perpetrators of the world's gravest crimes to account and gives victims a voice. It must be free to act without pressure,' European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on social media platform X. Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, which represents national governments of the 27 member states, called the court 'a cornerstone of international justice' and said its independence and integrity must be protected. US President Donald Trump 's administration imposed sanctions on four judges at the ICC in retaliation for the war tribunal's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan. The US order names Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia. The US sanctions mean the judges are now on a list of specially designated sanctioned individuals. Any US assets they have will be blocked and they are put on an automated screening service used by not only American banks but many banks worldwide, making it very difficult for sanctioned persons to hold or open bank accounts or transfer money. Trump's initial order announcing sanctions on the ICC also said that US citizens who provide services for the benefit of sanctioned individuals could face civil and criminal penalties. France said on Friday it backed the International Criminal Court after Washington imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, and said it was renewing its call on the United States to withdraw all its sanctions against the court. "France expresses its solidarity with the judges targeted by this decision, and reaffirms its unwavering support for the ICC and its staff, whose role is essential in the fight against impunity," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Slovenia urges EU to block sanctions Slovenia urged the EU to use its blocking statute, which lets the EU ban European companies from complying with US sanctions that Brussels deems unlawful. The power has been used in the past to prevent Washington from banning European trade with Cuba and Iran. 'Due to the inclusion of a citizen of an EU member state on the sanctions list, Slovenia will propose the immediate activation of the blocking act,' Slovenia's foreign ministry said in a post on social media site X late on Thursday. ICC president Judge Tomoko Akane had urged the EU already in March this year to bring the ICC into the scope of the blocking statute. The new sanctions have been imposed at a difficult time for the ICC, which is already reeling from earlier US sanctions against its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who last month stepped aside temporarily amid a United Nations investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. The court's governing body, which represents its 125 member states, on Friday condemned the US government's decision to retaliate against judges. 'These ... are regrettable attempts to impede the Court and its personnel in the exercise of their independent judicial functions,' the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties said.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
'No Eid' for West Bank Palestinians who lost sons in Israeli raids
The Israeli army has conducted a months-long operation in the camp which has forced Ghazzawi, along with thousands of other residents, from her home. For Ghazzawi, the few precious minutes she spent at her sons' graves still felt like a small victory. "On the last Eid (Eid al-Fitr, celebrating the end of Ramadan in March), they raided us. They even shot at us. But this Eid, there was no shooting, just that they kicked us out of the cemetery twice", the 48-year-old told AFP. "We were able to visit our land, clean up around the graves, and pour rosewater and cologne on them", she added. Eid al-Adha, which begins on Friday, is one of the biggest holidays in the Muslim calendar. According to Muslim tradition, it commemorates the sacrifice Ibrahim (known to Christians and Jews as Abraham) was about to make by killing his son, before the angel Gabriel intervened and offered him a sheep to sacrifice instead. As part of the celebrations, families traditionally visit the graves of their loved ones. In the Jenin camp cemetery, women and men had brought flowers for their deceased relatives, and many sat on the side of their loved ones' graves as they remembered the dead, clearing away weeds and dust. An armoured car arrived at the site shortly after, unloading soldiers to clear the cemetery of its mourners who walked away solemnly without protest. Ghazzawi's two sons, Mohammad and Basel, were killed in January 2024 in a Jenin hospital by undercover Israeli troops. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group claimed the two brothers as its fighters after their deaths. Like Ghazzawi, many in Jenin mourned sons killed during one of the numerous Israeli operations that have targeted the city, a known bastion of Palestinian armed groups fighting Israel. -'There is no Eid'- In the current months-long military operation in the north of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, Israeli forces looking for militants have cleared three refugee camps and deployed tanks in Jenin. Mohammad Abu Hjab, 51, went to the cemetery on the other side of the city to visit the grave of his son, killed in January by an Israeli strike that also killed five other people. "There is no Eid. I lost my son -- how can it be Eid for me?" he asked as he stood by the six small gravestones of the dead young men. The Israeli military did not offer details at the time but said it had carried out "an attack in the Jenin area". "There's no accountability, no oversight", lamented Abu Hjab. "One of the victims (of the strike) was just a kid, born in 2008 -— so he was only 16 years old." "I still have three other children. I live 24 hours a day with no peace of mind", he added, referring to the army's continued presence in Jenin. All around him, families sat or stood around graves at Jenin's eastern neighbourhood cemetery, which they visited after the early morning Eid prayer at the city's nearby Great Mosque. The mosque's imam led a prayer at the cemetery for those killed in Gaza and for the community's dead, particularly those killed by the Israeli army. Hamam al-Sadi, 31, told AFP he has visited the cemetery at every religious holiday since his brother was killed in a strike, to "just sit with him." -'Our only hope'- Several graves marked "martyr" -- a term broadly applied to Palestinian civilians and militants killed by Israel -- were decorated with photos of young men holding weapons. Mohammad Hazhouzi, 61, lost a son during a military raid in November 2024. He has also been unemployed since Israel stopped giving work permits to West Bank residents after the Gaza war erupted. Despite the army's continued presence in Jenin, Hazhouzi harboured hope. "They've been there for months. But every occupation eventually comes to an end, no matter how long it lasts". "God willing, we will achieve our goal of establishing our Palestinian state. That's our only hope," he said. "Be optimistic, and good things will come".
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
What is the level of public support for Israel in Western Europe?
A new YouGov study shows that the favourability towards Israel in Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Italy is at or near its lowest level in Western Europe since 2016. The research interviewed 8,625 people from these six key Western European countries between November 2016 and May 2025. Net favourability towards Israel in Germany (-44), France (-48), and Denmark (-54) has reached its lowest level since YouGov started tracking in 2016, while public sentiment in Italy (-52) and Spain (-55) are likewise at their lowest or joint lowest levels, despite a shorter timespan from 2021 onwards. A number of Europeans across these six countries think Israel was right to send troops into Gaza, but believe they have since gone too far and caused too many civilian casualties. This opinion won the most support in Germany at 40%, followed by Denmark at 39% and Britain at 38%. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Food supplies have also been blocked, with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)'s latest report stating half a million people face starvation. Between 7% and 18% of European respondents say they sympathise most with the Israeli side, the lowest figure in most countries since the Hamas attacks. By contrast, between 18% and 33% say they sympathise more with the Palestinian side. Only in Germany are the figures for each side similar, with 17% for Israel and 18% for Palestine. Despite permanent peace in the Middle East seeming distant to Europeans, French people are the most optimistic that both sides will set aside their differences within the next 10 years. Meanwhile, Danes are the least optimistic at 15%. Across all countries, the opinion that peace is realistic has fallen in popularity by between four and ten percentage points. EU member states' representatives voted this week for retaliatory measures against Chinese restrictions on European medical device manufacturers, diplomatic and EU sources confirmed to Euronews. This followed an investigation by the European Commission found "clear evidence" that China unfairly blocked EU-made medical devices from its procurement market. It represents the first countermeasure implemented using an International Procurement Instrument (IPI), which came into force in August 2022, designed to ensure fair access for EU firms to procurement opportunities outside the bloc. Ambassadors adopted the proposal midweek, but the details are expected to be published in the EU's Official Journal in the coming days. 'We had truly hoped that the International Procurement Instrument process would lead to more meaningful dialogue and progress with China, but unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet,' said Oliver Bisazza, CEO of MedTech Europe, the EU's association of medical device manufacturers. Bisazza wants to see the full details before reacting, but he pointed out that medical device companies remain committed to constructive engagement between the EU and China. 'This sector is vital for saving and improving people's lives and maintaining essential healthcare infrastructure, offering crucial services. This is something both parties should consider,' he added. EU companies have long struggled to gain access to China's public procurement market, despite China being one of Europe's largest trading partners for medical devices - accounting for 11% of export destinations in 2022. The Commission's investigation focused on China's government procurement law, which enforces the so-called "Buy China" policy, requiring public entities to prioritise domestic products and services, with limited exceptions. The probe found that EU manufacturers face a range of obstacles, including opaque approval systems, discriminatory certification procedures, vague national interest clauses used to exclude foreign bidders, and pricing pressures that are often unfeasible for European firms. One stark example: in Guangdong Province, the number of 'approved' imported medical devices dropped from 132 in 2019 to just 46 in 2021, highlighting the tightening of market access for EU firms. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU responded with concern, tweeting that the IPI measures send 'a troubling signal' for bilateral trade ties. In a follow-up statement, the Chamber argued that the targeted use of the IPI risks becoming a de facto trade barrier and urged the EU to reconsider the necessity and long-term impact of such actions. The measures come at a sensitive moment in EU-China relations, which are currently undergoing a tentative diplomatic reset. After years of friction, the two sides have stepped up engagement to manage long-standing disputes. Much of this renewed dialogue is a response to shifting global dynamics, including the Trump-era trade war and broader US-China tensions, which have prompted Brussels to pursue a more balanced approach. A key milestone in this reset is the upcoming EU-China Summit, now confirmed to take place in Beijing in the second half of July 2025. Despite the escalating procurement dispute, a Commission spokesperson downplayed concerns that the IPI measures would damage broader trade relations. 'We've been making very clear to any global partners with whom we believe there is a problem as regards to the level playing field for procurement: should those problems not be removed, we would be forced to take action,' said the spokesperson. On Wednesday, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič met with Chinese Minister Wang Wentao on the sidelines of the OECD Ministerial Council – their third meeting overall and second in person. According to the Commission, the talks covered a wide range of critical bilateral issues as both sides work to ensure progress ahead of the July summit.
