(CNN) — The Israel Defense Forces apologized for the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, one year to the day after she was killed by a bullet to the back of the head while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
This is the first time the IDF has apologized for the killing of the well-known correspondent, after admitting last year that there was a “high probability” that he was shot by an Israeli soldier.
The apology from the chief spokesman of the IDF, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, in an interview with CNN’s Eleni Giokos on Connect the World on Thursday.
“I think this is an opportunity for me to say here that we are very saddened by the death of Shireen Abu Akleh,” he said.
“He is a journalist, an established reporter. In Israel we value our democracy and in a democracy we see the high value of journalism and a free press. We want journalists to feel safe in Israel, especially in times of war, even if they criticize us,” he said.
The apology comes days after the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published a report that found the Israeli military was not responsible for the killing of at least 20 journalist for the past two decades.
The press advocacy group says it has documented at least 20 journalists killed by Israeli military fire since 2001, adding 18 of those killed were Palestinians. “No one has yet been charged or held accountable for these deaths,” the press release said.
CPJ said its report – titled ‘Deadly Pattern’ – found a “routine pattern” that occurs when a journalist is killed at the hands of the IDF.
“Israeli officials discount evidence and witness claims, which often appear to clear soldiers for the killings while inquiries are still ongoing,” CPJ said, describing the IDF’s approach to investigating military killings of civilians such as journalists as a “black box,” with the results of any investigation kept confidential.
“When investigations do occur, the Israeli military often takes months or years to investigate the killings and the families of most Palestinian journalists have little recourse within Israel to pursue justice,” he said. the CPJ.
A CNN investigation in May last year unearthed evidence – including two videos of the shooting scene – that there was no active fighting, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to the his death.
Footage obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight eyewitnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapon expert, suggests that Israeli forces targeted the journalist.
While the IDF admitted for the first time in September that there was a “high probability” that Abu Akleh was “accidentally” shot and killed by Israeli fire, its Office of the Military Advocate General said in a statement that it did not intend to pursue the criminal charges or prosecution of any of the soldiers involved.
Responding to the CPJ report earlier this month, the IDF said it “regrets any harm to civilians during the operation and considers the protection of press freedom and the professional work of journalists very important. ”
“The IDF does not deliberately target non-combatants, and live combat fire is used only after all options have been exhausted,” it said in the statement.
