Israeli Military police stated they are satisfied with assurances of Israeli troops over death of US-Palestinian Journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh.

Despite international demands, Israel will not launch a criminal investigation into the killing of the US-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, which Palestinian officials and witnesses have blamed on Israeli soldiers.

According to a report in the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli military police branch has accepted the assurances of Israeli troops that they were not aware she was in a village adjacent to the Jenin refugee camp when she was killed on 11 May.

Abu Aqleh was a household name across the Arab world, known for documenting the hardship of Palestinian life under Israeli rule for Al Jazeera. Her killing received widespread international coverage and prompted criticism from the White House.

The Biden administration and the UN security council have called for a transparent investigation.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, promised her family that Washington would demand that her death be properly investigated.

Abu Aqleh was killed during an arrest raid by an Israeli commando unit on Jenin camp in the Westbank.

The Israeli military had previously released an account that said it could not unequivocally determine the source of the bullet that killed Abu Aqleh. That account speculated that the bullet could have been fired using a “telescopic scope” at 200 metres.

Palestinian officials have refused to give the recovered bullet to Israeli authorities to analyze but said it welcomed international investigations.

At her funeral on Friday, Israeli forces attacked and  beat mourners carrying her casket, prompting more criticism of Israeli crime.

Last week the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, complained about a lack of Israeli accountability for deaths in the occupied territories.

Commenting on Abu Aqleh’s killing and the subsequent violence at her funeral, Bachelet said: “As I have called for many times before, there must be appropriate investigations into the actions of Israeli security forces.

“Anyone found responsible should be held to account with penal and disciplinary sanctions commensurate to the gravity of the violation. This culture of impunity must end now.”

More than 100 artists, including Hollywood stars, acclaimed authors and prominent musicians, have meanwhile signed a joint letter condemning Abu Aqleh’s killing.

Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and Tilda Swinton were among the signatories to a letter published by Artists for Palestine UK that called for “full accountability for the perpetrators of this crime and everyone involved in authorizing it”.

 

The police branch decision came a day after Israeli authorities said they have given the go-ahead for flag-waving Jewish nationalists to march through the heart of the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Old City later this month, in a decision that threatens to re-ignite violence in the holy city.

The office of the public security minister, Omer Barlev, said the march would take place on 29 May along its “customary route” through Damascus Gate, which is an Arab neighborhood.

 

The Old City, located in East Jerusalem, has experienced weeks of violent suppression by  Israeli forces to  Palestinian demonstrations which  threatens to trigger new unrest.