Outgoing prime minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday, that no Israeli soldier will be investigated after the unusual decision by the U.S. FBI to investigate the killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
IDF soldiers will not be investigated by the FBI or any other foreign entity or state, no matter how friendly to Israel," Lapid said after the swearing-in ceremony for Israel's 25th Knesset.
"We will not abandon our soldiers to an investigation. Our strong protest was delivered to the American's in the appropriate levels," he said.
"The IDF is a moral military with values and its soldiers and commanders are protecting Israel, vigorously investigating any unusual incident and are committed to democratic values and the law," Lapid said.
Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering clashes in the Jenin refugee camp last May. After investigations by Palestinians, international media organizations and the IDF, which conceded that there is a high probability that she was killed by a soldier but reiterated its claim that it was not an intentional killing.
The FBI probe came after 57 members of Congress, asked FBI director Christopher Wray to investigate the circumstances of the American, Palestinian journalist's death.