Israel's departing Prime Minister Yair Lapid doubled down Tuesday on his government's harsh condemnation of a reported investigation by the United States Department of Justice into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist, in the occupied West Bank.
A Justice Department spokesman had no comment. There were no details about when an investigation might begin and what it would involve, nor what the ramifications might be. But an FBI probe into the actions of an ally would mark a rare — if not unprecedented — step, threatening to strain close ties between the countries as Israel heads toward the most right-wing government in its history.
After a swearing-in ceremony for Israel's newly elected parliament on Tuesday, Lapid vowed Israel would not participate in an American investigation into the fatal shooting of the prominent 51-year-old Al Jazeera correspondent last May in Jenin, a Palestinian city in the West Bank. Echoing remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz the day before, Lapid said that Israeli soldiers “will not be investigated by the FBI or by any foreign country or body, however friendly.”
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority welcomed the news and promised to cooperate fully with a U.S. investigation, reflecting how Abu Akleh's case has become a point of contention in competing narratives by Israelis and Palestinians.