Israel took no accountability for killings of 20 journalists, press watchdog finds

A press watchdog found Israel has taken no accountability for the killings of 20 journalists in the past two decades in a report released about a year after the killing of a Palestinian reporter during an Israeli military operation. 

The report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which was released on Tuesday, found that Israel has shown a pattern of discounting evidence and witness claims in these shooting incidents in the past 22 years, clear soldiers of wrongdoing while investigations are still underway and provide little recourse to the families of those killed. 

It also found the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the country’s military, has not shown respect for press insignia and have accused journalists of terrorism without explanation. 

Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who worked as a correspondent for Al-Jazeera, was shot and killed last May during the military operation in the city of Jenin, which is under the administration of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. 

“Ahead of the first anniversary of Abu Akleh’s death, CPJ revisited these 20 cases and found a pattern of Israeli response that appears designed to evade responsibility,” the report states. “Israel has failed to fully investigate these killings, launching deeper probes only when the victim is foreign or has a high-profile employer. Even then, inquiries drag on for months or years and end with the exoneration of those who opened fire.” 

The IDF has said it was conducting counterterrorism activities in the city when Palestinian gunmen “fired at and hurled explosive devices toward the soldiers,” causing them to return fire. 

Israel later acknowledged after an investigation that Abu Akleh was likely killed by a member of the IDF but said it was unintentional. It also criticized a U.S. decision in November to launch its own investigation into the incident as a “grave mistake.” 

“The IDF conducted an independent and professional investigation, which was presented to the Americans who shared the details,” then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz tweeted at the time. 

The report included a map of the 20 locations where journalists have been killed in the region since 2001. Seven killings, including Abu Akleh’s, happened in the West Bank, while 13 happened in the Gaza Strip. 

Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip for about 15 years since Israel pulled its settlements out of the region in 2005. 

The report found witness testimonies and independent reports were dismissed in at least 13 of the cases, conflicts of interest in the chain of command have been overlooked and the results of the investigations have been classified and not released to the public. 

“The result is always the same — no one is held responsible,” the report states. 

The Hill has reached out to the IDF for comment. 

The report states that CPJ sent multiple requests to the IDF’s press office for interviews, but the military declined them. 

The IDF told CNN that it regrets “any harm to civilians” during its operations and considers protection of freedom of the press and journalists’ work to be “of great importance.” 

“The IDF does not intentionally target noncombatants, and live fire in combat is used only after all other options have been exhausted,” it said.