LONDON: Human rights groups have urged the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon to publicly release the findings of a probe into Israel’s killing of a Reuters videographer last year.
Issa Abdallah was killed and six other journalists from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Al Jazeera were injured in the strike on Oct. 13.
Investigations launched by Human Rights Watch, Reuters and AFP concluded that the attack was a deliberate strike by the Israeli military against media workers wearing visible press vests.
The letter to the UN was sent by 16 NGOs and journalist groups, including HRW, MENA Rights Group, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy and Reporters Without Borders.
It was addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UNIFIL Force Commander Lieutenant General Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
“The Reuters report suggests that the UNIFIL investigation corroborated the findings of investigations conducted by Reporters Without Borders, Reuters, AFP, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch,” the organizations said in the letter.
“We, therefore, request that UNIFIL make its full investigation public in accordance with the UN’s commitment to transparency.”
The request follows mounting concern that the UN’s findings may not be released to the public, a scenario the group notes “is not without precedent.
“If UNIFIL is currently unable to make the full report public, we ask you to make a public statement explaining why and providing a timeline for when publication will occur. In such instances, a redacted or summarized version of the report should be released in the interim,” the letter said.
The release of the findings is “necessary to support other justice and accountability efforts,” it added.
Reuters staff, who saw a copy of the seven-page summary of the investigation dated to February this year, said UNIFIL found that an Israeli tank killed Abdallah by firing two 120 mm rounds at a group of “clearly identifiable journalists,” in violation of international law.
The investigators added that UNIFIL personnel did not record any exchange of fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon for more than 40 minutes before the Israeli Merkava tank opened fire.
If confirmed, the strikes could be investigated as a war crime, a demand previously made by HRW and Amnesty International.
