Days after an internal Israel Defense Forces (IDF) probe concluded that Palestinian-American Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was most likely shot by mistake by a soldier who did not identify her as a member of the press, the story continues to dominate the news cycle (see here and here).
On Tuesday, amid an avalanche of censure from the White House press corps, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the Biden Administration would “continue to underscore the importance of accountability in this case.”
“We’re going to continue to press our Israeli partners to closely review its policies and practices on rules of engagement [emphasis added] and consider additional steps to mitigate the risk of civilian harm, protect journalists, and prevent similar tragedies in the future,” he added, seemingly taking a jab at the IDF’s ethical code.
While journalists in the Jewish state denounced Patel’s comments as “American chutzpah” (audacity), his veiled criticism did not go far enough for some attending the State Department briefing. In lengthy follow-up questions, Matt Lee (Associated Press) and Said Arikat (Palestinian daily Al-Quds) seemingly pushed the administration to call for criminal charges against the Israeli serviceman thought to have fired the fatal shot.
Yet their insistence on holding Israel “accountable” has little to do with getting justice for Shireen Abu Akleh.
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IDF Rules of Engagement: Maintaining Humanity in Combat
The September 6 press briefing confirmed earlier reports that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after meeting Abu Akleh’s family two months ago, urged Israel to review the IDF’s rules of engagement. According to US and Israeli sources cited by Axios, Blinken told Defense Minister Benny Gantz this would be a “step toward accountability in the Abu Akleh case.”
The rules of engagement limit the circumstances under which troops can use live ammunition in response to Palestinian rioting and acts of terrorism. The Israeli open-fire directives are among the most stringent in the world, requiring soldiers to shout at a suspect to halt, fire into the air, and only use lethal force in case of an imminent and direct threat to life.
Gantz posited in 2019 that “our battle orders include the rules of engagement and the [biblical] Ten Commandments. The computer code of the F-35 and the moral code of the prophets of Israel.” And indeed, the principle that life is sacred is a basic tenet of the IDF’s doctrinal underpinnings.
This concept is made explicit in Ruach Tzahal, the Code of Ethics, one of the first things conscripts learn during basic training:
The soldier shall make use of his weaponry and power only for the fulfillment of the mission and solely to the extent required; he will maintain his humanity even in combat. The soldier shall not employ his weaponry and power in order to harm non-combatants or prisoners of war, and shall do all he can to avoid harming their lives, bodies, honor, and property.”
Related Reading: Unreported: IDF Values Life as Hamas Aims to Maximize Casualties
With regards to Shireen Abu Akleh’s tragic May 11 death, the IDF and the Military Advocate General’s office — following a months-long probe that included interviews with those involved, as well as the review of “visual documentation” — on Monday stated that “soldiers only aimed fire at those who were identified as armed terrorists during the incident.”
“As such, there was no suspicion that a bullet was fired deliberately at anyone identified as a civilian and in particular at anyone identified as a journalist,” the press release noted, adding: “Live fire was used by the IDF in response to the extensive firing of hundreds of bullets by Palestinian gunmen, over significant periods of time, and as a reasonable response to this gunfire.”
It is imperative to note that the Al Jazeera reporter was covering the news from Jenin, a known stronghold for the US-designated terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The perpetrators of multiple terror attacks in the last months in Israel have been residents of Jenin or surrounding villages, including the Palestinian terrorist who murdered three people in a Tel Aviv bar on April 7 and the gunman who slaughtered five in Bnei Brak days earlier.
Although the Palestinian Authority’s security forces have made some attempts to impose their rule in the terror hotbed, Ramallah has clearly failed to meet its obligations under the Oslo Accords to fight terrorism. PIJ reportedly pays teenagers in the city $300 for every Israeli soldier they shoot and $100 if their attacks do not result in injuries to the troops.
Crucially, video footage from the day of Abu Akleh’s death shows Palestinian combatants firing indiscriminately as the Duvdevan counterterrorism operates in Jenin’s UNRWA-run refugee camp (see, for instance, here, here, and here).
Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the West Bank has published a video it says was of clashes Wednesday morning against IDF troops operating in Jenin. pic.twitter.com/BhbNJZBOM3
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) May 11, 2022
Related Reading: Why Israeli Security Personnel Must Sometimes Resort to Using Force in West Bank, Gaza Strip
Shireen Abu Akleh Caught in the Crossfire
Responding to Vedant Patel’s statement, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid reiterated on Wednesday that Israel is “deeply committed to freedom of the press.” He added: “[We have] some of the most stringent rules of engagement in the world — but to be clear, I will not allow an IDF soldier that was protecting himself from terrorist fire to be prosecuted just to receive applause from abroad.”
Given the facts of the case, and Jerusalem’s unwavering commitment to upholding humanity in combat, it is crystal clear that Abu Akleh’s tragic death has nothing to do with Israel’s rules of engagement. Rather, the Al Jazeera reporter got caught in the crossfire.
While acknowledging that civilian casualties and injuries are an unfortunate outcome of hostilities, international law recognizes the Jewish state’s right to defend its citizens against indiscriminate attacks by an enemy who does not adhere to the same legal norms governing armed conflict.
Notably, recent data published by the prestigious Watson Institute at Brown University claims that the war on terror, led by the United States, has cost the lives of hundreds and thousands of civilians, in addition to 680 journalists and media workers. According to some estimates, US troops in the past years killed many more civilians than combatants.
Meanwhile, even Israel’s worst critics acknowledge that the Israel Defense Forces take extreme precautions to prevent harm to innocents. During the three-day war between the IDF and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, failed PIJ rockets killed more civilians in the Gaza Strip than Israeli air strikes did.
But who will hold terrorist groups in the West Bank and Gaza accountable for their crimes against peace-seeking Israelis and Palestinians alike?
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Featured Image: Majdi Fathi/TPS
