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Israel Will Not Cooperate with FBI Inquiry Into Killing of Abu Akleh

Slain Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh - AFP
Slain Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh - AFP
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Israel Will Not Cooperate with FBI Inquiry Into Killing of Abu Akleh

Slain Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh - AFP
Slain Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh - AFP

Israel will not cooperate with the investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed while covering a military raid on the West Bank city of Jenin in May.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement Monday that Israel has published its own probe and will not cooperate with the proceedings.

He stressed that Israel made it clear to the US representatives that it stands behind Israeli soldiers and we will not cooperate with any external investigation.

Gantz denounced the inquiry as “interference in Israel’s internal affairs.”

"The decision of the US Department of Justice to investigate the unfortunate death of Shireen Abu Akleh is a grave mistake," said Gantz.

The 51-year-old Palestinian-US reporter, was wearing a press vest and helmet and standing when she was shot in the head by a sniper during an Israeli raid in the West Bank.

Palestinian authorities accused Israel of killing Abu Akleh, however Israeli probe into the matter claimed that she was killed by mistake.

The Abu Akleh family recently called the US announcement “an important step toward accountability and gets our family closer to justice for Shireen.”

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Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed on Sunday that the decision to confine all arms to the state has already been made, but he emphasized that its enforcement hinges on the “right conditions” to determine the timing and method.
Aoun’s statement came two days after Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem firmly rejected any possibility of disarmament. “We will not allow anyone to disarm Hezbollah or the resistance,” Qassem had said in a televised address.
He warned that Hezbollah has “other options,” though he stopped short of specifying them.
Qassem also claimed that Hezbollah has successfully thwarted Israel’s objectives in southern Lebanon, and revealed that “positive messages” had been exchanged with President Aoun regarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

Aoun
Following an Easter Mass and a closed-door meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Aoun reiterated his stance on confining weapons to the state, emphasizing that the matter “should not be debated through media or social platforms, but rather approached with national responsibility and without provocation”.
He added that the nation’s best interest must always come first, reaffirming that his call, as mentioned in his inaugural address, for exclusive state control over arms was not mere words.
“When I spoke of the state’s exclusive right to arms in my oath of office, it wasn’t just words. I said it because I firmly believe that the Lebanese people do not want war and can no longer bear its consequences or even the language of war,” he said.
In addressing the challenges facing this matter and how to reconcile between external pressures on Lebanon and internal calls for a more gradual approach, Aoun said: “We must address the matter responsibly and with composure because it is a sensitive and fundamental matter for preserving civil peace”.
President Joseph Aoun reiterated his call for internal dialogue as the only viable path to resolve contentious national issues, including the question of Hezbollah’s arms. He warned against confrontation, which he said could lead Lebanon toward destruction.
Patriarch Al-Rahi
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, during his Easter Mass sermon, voiced strong support for Aoun’s position on state sovereignty and the monopoly of arms.
Rahi endorsed Aoun’s message that "only the state can protect us—a strong, sovereign, and just state, born from the will of the Lebanese people and committed to their well-being, peace, and prosperity."