The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and the Unfinished Search for Accountability

What happened in Jenin?

Shireen Abu Akleh was a veteran Al Jazeera correspondent and a Palestinian-American citizen whose reporting from the West Bank had made her a widely recognized journalist across the Arab world. On the morning of 11 May 2022, she joined other journalists near Jenin refugee camp to cover an Israeli military arrest operation.

The journalists wore protective helmets and blue body armour marked “PRESS.” During the operation, Abu Akleh was struck in the head and killed. Al Jazeera producer Ali al-Samoudi was shot in the shoulder and survived. The fatal event quickly generated competing claims about where the shots came from, whether armed Palestinians were near the journalists and whether the person firing could identify them as press.

What the UN Human Rights Office established

On 24 June 2022, the UN Human Rights Office published the results of its independent monitoring. It said investigators examined photo, video and audio material, visited the scene, consulted experts, reviewed official communications and interviewed witnesses.

OHCHR concluded that the shots which killed Abu Akleh and wounded al-Samoudi came from Israeli Security Forces. It said the information gathered was consistent with several apparently well-aimed single bullets fired from the direction of Israeli forces. The Office also said it found no information suggesting armed Palestinian activity in the journalists’ immediate vicinity at the relevant time.

This was an institutional monitoring conclusion, not a criminal judgment against an identified individual. OHCHR called for a criminal investigation into the killing and criticized the absence of one at that stage.

The United States assessment and damaged bullet

On 4 July 2022, the United States Security Coordinator summarized both the Israeli and Palestinian investigations. The United States said independent third-party examiners performed an “extremely detailed forensic analysis” of the bullet, but its condition prevented a definitive conclusion about the weapon from which it was fired.

Even without a conclusive ballistic match, the U.S. review concluded that gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible. It also said the available information gave no reason to believe the shooting was intentional, characterizing the death as the result of tragic circumstances during an Israeli-led military operation against Palestinian Islamic Jihad factions.

The finding narrowed the probable source while leaving intent and individual responsibility unresolved. It did not produce a prosecution.

The Israeli military’s September 2022 review

The IDF published final conclusions on 5 September 2022. It said investigators could not determine the source of fire unequivocally. The review nevertheless found a high possibility that Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire directed toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen during an exchange of fire.

The IDF said another possibility remained that she was struck by Palestinian gunfire. It maintained that she was not intentionally targeted and expressed regret for her death. After reviewing the findings, Israel’s Military Advocate General stated that there was no suspicion of a criminal offence that justified opening a Military Police Criminal Investigation Division inquiry.

The IDF account therefore acknowledged a high possibility of its own fire while rejecting an intentional shooting and a criminal-investigation threshold. OHCHR’s account differed materially on whether armed Palestinian activity was present in the journalists’ immediate vicinity and on the need for a criminal inquiry.

Palestinian findings and independent reporting

The Palestinian Authority’s public prosecutor said its investigation concluded that Israeli forces fired at the journalists and characterized the shooting as deliberate. Because that conclusion concerns intent—a central criminal issue—this archive presents it as the Palestinian prosecution authority’s finding rather than as an adjudicated fact.

Major news organizations conducted visual and spatial reconstructions. Their reporting generally placed Israeli forces in the direction from which the fatal shots came and found no evidence of armed Palestinians close to the reporters. Those investigations strengthened the public evidentiary record, but journalism cannot itself impose criminal liability.

Why accountability remains unfinished

Reports in November 2022 said the U.S. Department of Justice had informed Israel that the FBI had opened an investigation. The Justice Department and FBI did not publish a detailed case record or final conclusion. Israel objected to the reported inquiry.

On 7 May 2026, the Committee to Protect Journalists said the reported FBI investigation appeared to have stalled. CPJ reported that it remained unclear whether eyewitnesses in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territory had been formally interviewed and that no demonstrable progress toward accountability had been disclosed.

As of 11 October 2026, the reviewed public record contained no individual charge, trial or conviction for Abu Akleh’s fatal shooting. That absence is the basis for this archive’s Unsolved classification. It does not erase the UN, U.S. or IDF findings about the probable source of fire; it identifies the difference between a factual assessment and a completed criminal process.

Case timeline

1. 11 May 2022 — Shireen Abu Akleh is killed and Ali al-Samoudi is wounded while journalists cover an Israeli military operation in Jenin.
2. 26 May 2022 — The Palestinian public prosecutor announces findings attributing the shooting to Israeli forces and alleging deliberate targeting.
3. 24 June 2022 — OHCHR says its monitoring indicates the shots came from Israeli Security Forces and calls for a criminal investigation.
4. 4 July 2022 — The U.S. Security Coordinator says fire from IDF positions was likely responsible; the damaged bullet cannot be matched conclusively.
5. 5 September 2022 — The IDF says there is a high possibility Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF fire and finds no basis for a criminal investigation.
6. November 2022 — News reports say the FBI has opened an investigation; no detailed public findings follow.
7. 7 May 2026 — CPJ reports that the publicly reported FBI inquiry appears stalled.
8. 11 October 2026 — No individual charge or conviction is located in the reviewed public record.

What is established—and what is not

Strongly supported

• Abu Akleh was reporting in Jenin and wore protective equipment marked PRESS.
• She was killed by a gunshot to the head; Ali al-Samoudi was wounded.
• OHCHR concluded the fire came from Israeli Security Forces.
• The U.S. assessment found IDF fire likely responsible, and the IDF acknowledged a high possibility of its own fire.
• No individual criminal conviction has followed.

Not finally adjudicated

• The identity of the person who fired the fatal shot.
• Whether the shooter recognized the journalists and acted intentionally.
• Any individual or command-level criminal liability.
• The scope, evidence and current disposition of the reported FBI investigation.

Sources and source quality

• UN Human Rights Office — Killing of journalist in the occupied Palestinian territoryPublished 24 June 2022; primary account of OHCHR’s monitoring methods and conclusions.
• U.S. Department of State archive — On the Killing of Shireen Abu AklehPublished 4 July 2022; official summary of the U.S. Security Coordinator’s assessment and forensic limits.
• Israel Defense Forces — Final Conclusions of Shireen Abu Akleh InvestigationPublished 5 September 2022; primary statement of the IDF review and criminal-investigation decision.
• Reuters — UN rights office findings on the fatal shootingPublished 24 June 2022; independent reporting that includes the UN finding and the Israeli response.
• Committee to Protect Journalists — Four years on, FBI investigation appears stalledPublished 7 May 2026; latest located accountability-status review.