Gaza journalists demand Israel answer over killing
Fadel Shana
Responding to condemnation of the killing from the European Union, Israel's foreign minister said during a meeting with EU counterparts that her government would publish the results of an inquiry into the April 16 incident, possibly within days.
The demonstration, during which journalists in Gaza laid down their cameras, came on a day when U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon unveiled a memorial in London dedicated to journalists killed while reporting on wars around the world.
Reuters and other media organisations say the Israeli army's failure to explain why its troops fired tank shells that killed Fadel Shana and eight other civilians, some of them children, has made it difficult to update safety advice for their staff and so has handicapped coverage from Gaza.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said before meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Luxembourg: "About the killing, I will certainly condemn that.
"Journalists are always in a very, very difficult situation and therefore we want to see understanding, we want to see also a sensitivity about it," Ferrero-Waldner told reporters.
Later, Livni, who was present to hear EU foreign ministers debate giving Israel greater access to European markets, told a news conference: "I would like ... to express our sorrow for this event. Clearly there is a full investigation by the Israeli army ... I don't have the result of this investigation."
She added: "When we gather results -- we hope in the next few days -- we can share with the international community."
Livni also stressed: "This was during a military operation in which three Israeli soldiers also were killed."
An independent report commissioned by Reuters concluded that there was no militant activity in the area where Shana was killed, about 100 metres (yards) from Gaza's main highway. The three soldiers were killed about 12 hours earlier in a dawn ambush, some 15 km (9 miles) from where Shana died.
Reuters Middle East Managing Editor Mark Thompson said: "We are deeply disappointed that the Israeli army has failed to provide an account of the circumstances in which Fadel Shana was killed by a tank shell on April 16, nor any evidence to support its claim that they could not identify him as a journalist.
"Fadel had taken all reasonable precautions while filming that day and the refusal of the Israeli army to work with the media on safety issues since his death has forced us and others to curtail reporting in Gaza."
A spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert denied Israel, whose army has warned journalists that they work in Gaza at their own risk, was seeking to discourage coverage there.
"We urge journalists to use common sense and to look after themselves. But the idea that journalists should not go to Gaza is not the position of the government," Mark Regev said.
Journalists for Palestinian and foreign media operating in Gaza agreed not to publish images on Monday of any Israeli military operations in the enclave. About 50 journalists also attended a brief demonstration in the city of Gaza.
Shana, 24, and a colleague who was wounded in the wrist, had been filming from a tripod in full view of two tanks for several minutes when one of the tanks fired a shell that exploded above them, showering them with metal darts known as flechettes.
Both wore body armour that carried "Press" markings, as did the car which they had been driving in the area for about half an hour. They were about 1.5 km (a mile) from the tanks. Shana's camera captured the fatal shell being fired.
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