Al Jazeera has submitted a formal request to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute the Israeli forces responsible for the killing Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Retaliating the move, Israel's National Security Minister-designate, far-right leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for the expulsion of Al Jazeera from 'Israel' on the very same day.
Abu Akleh, 51, a veteran reporter with Al Jazeera Arabic was
shot dead on 11 May while covering an Israeli military raid in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Her death, which was widely condemned, sparked multiple investigations, including one by the UN, which concluded that Israeli forces likely killed her.
In September, the Israeli army investigation concluded that the slain journalist was likely shot by an Israeli soldier but was not "deliberately targeted."
According to Al Jazeera's lawyer, Rodney Dixon KC, the request was filed in the context of what the network perceives as a wider attack on Al Jazeera and journalists in Palestine, referring to incidents such as the bombing of the channel’s Gaza office on 15 May 2021.
Al Jazeera spent six months investigating the killing and
aired a
documentary last week that showed how Abu Akleh and other journalists wearing protective helmets and bulletproof vests marked with the word “PRESS” came under fire.
The network's request is joint complaint submitted by Abu Akleh’s family, Palestinian Press Syndicate and the International Federation of
Journalists.
In 2021, the ICC decided that it has a jurisdiction over the occupied West Bank.