Reuters urges Israel answer on journalist killed

LONDON (Reuters) - A month after journalist Fadel Shana was killed by an Israeli tank crew in the Gaza Strip, Reuters renewed its demand on Thursday for a prompt explanation from the Israeli army of why it fired on its cameraman.

Shana, a 24-year-old Palestinian, was killed on April 16 along with eight mostly teenage bystanders by darts known as flechettes that burst out of a tank shell in mid-air. Shana had been filming about 1.5 km (a mile) from two Israeli tanks.

The Israeli army said it had completed an initial field investigation that had determined the soldiers had followed orders and acted appropriately. But military lawyers still had to study the case before the army could give a full account.

"A month has passed since Fadel Shana was killed by Israeli forces while responsibly going about his professional duties," said Reuters Middle East Managing Editor Mark Thompson.

"We urge the IDF to release its report on the incident now so that media organizations and the military can cooperate on ways ensure journalists can continue to cover this conflict."

Independent investigators commissioned by Reuters have prepared their own preliminary report on the incident, which raises serious questions over why the tank opened fire.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli Defense Forces, Major Avital Leibovich, said: "We are working as quickly as possible to complete the investigation at all levels."

The IDF's Advocate General's office, the military judiciary, was now looking at a field-level inquiry which, she said, had already concluded the soldiers had done no wrong.

Confirming that the tank crews involved had not been suspended and were still operating around the Gaza Strip, Leibovich said: "They acted according to their orders.