![Palestinians place flowers to the place where Al Jazeera's journalist Shireen Abu Akleh killed by Israeli forces in Jenin, West Bank on 12 May 2022. [Nedal Eshtayah - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AA-20220512-27842296-27842287-AL_JAZEERA_JOURNALIST_KILLED_BY_ISRAELI_FORCES_IN_WEST_BANK.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The Israeli sniper who fired the live bullet that killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh claimed he did not see her and did not know who she was, Haaretz reported yesterday.
An Israel army officer told the paper that a soldier sitting in an army vehicle with a rifle equipped with a telescopic lens fired at Abu Akleh from 190 metres away, killing her.
The soldier said he did not know he shot at Abu Akleh when he fired, had not seen her, and did not know her identity, the paper added.
The soldier attempted to target an armed Palestinian who appeared behind the wall the journalists were sheltering in front of, the investigation claimed. “The journalists were a short distance behind him,” it added.
Last Wednesday Israel assassinated Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while she was covering the occupation army’s storming of Jenin refugee camp. The 51-year-old was wearing a flak jacket clearly displaying the word ‘press’ and had a helmet on, however a sniper bullet entered her head from her ear, killing her. Colleagues around her were also shot at as they tried to rescue her.
![Israel shoots dead Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, during invasion of Jenin - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IMG_5028-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C745&ssl=1)
Israel shoots dead Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, during invasion of Jenin – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]
READ: Israel’s assassination of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was not the first, nor will it be the last