Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's International Spokeswoman, Keren Hajioff, has made the following statement today (Thursday, 12 May 2022) regarding the death of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh:

"Shireen Abu Akleh's death is a tragedy. There's no other word for it. She was an experienced journalist, whom many of my own colleagues used to work with.

We have to get to the bottom of what happened — to find the truth and only the truth. Israel asked the Palestinians to conduct a joint investigation to find out what caused Shireen’s tragic death, but the Palestinians refused.

Why are they rejecting a joint investigation? What exactly are they trying to hide?

Yesterday, the director of the Palestinian Forensic Medicine Institute carried out an initial autopsy and publicly stated that his results were inconclusive.

Without any concrete evidence, hasty accusations against Israel that are being made right now are misleading and irresponsible.

I call upon all parties to refrain from disrupting or contaminating the investigation — an investigation that should be carried out jointly by Israel together with the Palestinians.

Israel is a vibrant democracy that is proudly committed to ensuring freedom of the press. Journalists are critical to the continued strength of our democracy.

We convey our heartfelt condolences to Shireen's family, colleagues and loved ones."