Pat Dollard

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We showed you the IDF tank firing at a Hamas position the other day that killed a Reuters cameraman, and now after an outcry from Human Rights Watch (why aren’t they witching about the Sderot rockets?), Israel says it is going to investigate the incident.

JERUSALEM – The Israeli army announced Sunday it will investigate the killing of a cameraman for the Reuters news agency, after a human rights group said it found evidence suggesting that an Israeli tank crew fired recklessly or deliberately at the journalist.

Cameraman Fadel Shana, 23, was killed in Gaza on Wednesday, the bloodiest day of fighting between Israeli troops and Gaza militants in a month. Just before his death, Shana was filming an Israeli tank in the distance, and his final footage shows the tank firing a shell in his direction.

Palestinian medics said two teens wounded in Wednesday’s shelling died of their wounds Sunday, bring the total number of Palestinians killed in the shelling to six. In all, 23 Palestinians were killed that day.

Palestinian journalists have staged protests following Shana’s death, and on Sunday, several dozen journalists marched in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The marchers, including Palestinian Information Minister Riad Malki, were led by a group carrying a stretcher with a camera and a tripod. They held a banner reading: “The occupiers are responsible for the blood of our colleague.”

The Israeli military announced Sunday that it is launching an investigation, which will be reviewed by the Military Advocate General.

“The IDF wishes to emphasize that unlike terrorist organizations, not only does it not it deliberately target uninvolved civilians, it also uses means to avoid such incidents,” a statement said. “Reports claiming the opposite are false and misleading.”

The announcement comes after New York-based group Human Rights Watch said its own investigation found evidence that the tank crew fired either recklessly or deliberately.

“Israeli soldiers did not make sure they were aiming at a military target before firing, and there is evidence suggesting they actually targeted the journalists,” said Joe Stork, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. The group called on the Israeli military to investigate.

(AP)