Israel opens up about US investigation into journalist Shireen Abu Akleh's killing, says 'won't cooperate'

Israel has confirmed that the United States is conducting an investigation into the "tragic passing" of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. However, calling the investigation a "mistake" a senior Israeli official said that the country "will not cooperate with an external investigation".

Benny Gantz, Israel's Defence Minister in a statement said that "The decision taken by the US Justice Department to conduct an investigation into the tragic passing of Shireen Abu Akleh, is a mistake."

Watch |Probe in journalist Abu Akleh's death: 'Will not cooperate with US investigation,' says Israel

Gatz added that the nation's military has already conducted an investigation: The IDF (Israeli army) has conducted a professional, independent investigation, which was presented to American officials with whom the case details were shared."

While a Politico report said that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a probe into the killing, the agency as per AFP has neither confirmed nor denied the investigation.

B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group that documents violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories as per AFP said that it always believed that "some form of international intervention" would be needed to bring the slain journalist some justice.

However, the outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that Israeli soldiers "will not be probed" by the FBI.

In a statement to UN investigators last week, Abu Akleh's family and colleagues said that Israel had purposefully targeted her as part of its "wide-scale war" against Palestinian media workers. They also demanded accountability and justice.

The apparent launch of a US investigation, according to the murdered reporter's family, is "an essential step."

(With inputs from agencies)

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