Lapid vows troops ‘won’t be interrogated’ by FBI over Abu Akleh killing

By Carrie Keller-Lynn 15 November 2022, 6:09 pm

Edit

Carrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel

In this undated photo provided by Al Jazeera Media Network, Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist for Al Jazeera network, stands next to a TV camera with the Old City of Jerusalem in the background. (Al Jazeera Media Network via AP)

Prime Minister Yair Lapid says that Israel’s soldiers “will not be interrogated” by “any foreign body, ” responding to a US probe into the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

“IDF soldiers will not be interrogated by the FBI or by any foreign body or foreign country, however friendly,” Lapid says to freshly sworn-in Knesset members. “We will not abandon IDF soldiers to foreign investigations, and our strong protest has been passed on to the Americans at the appropriate levels.”

Abu Akleh was shot and killed while covering firefights between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen in Jenin on May 11. An IDF investigation found that she was likely struck by an IDF bullet, though not intentionally targeted.

“The IDF is a moral and values-based army. IDF soldiers and commanders defend the State of Israel, thoroughly investigate every aberrant incident, and are committed to the values of democracy and its laws,” Lapid adds.

The remarks come after Defense Minister Benny Gantz shut down the possibility of Israeli cooperation.