JERUSALEM – The bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian-American journalist shot in the occupied West Bank In May, it was most likely fired from Israeli military lines but was too damaged to say for sure, the State Department said on Monday.
According to a State Department statement, the damage to the bullet makes it difficult to draw an exact conclusion about the gun it was fired from. But shots fired from the Israel Defense Forces position “have the potential to cause death,” it added.
US officials “found no reason to believe this was intentional but was the result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation,” the statement said.
Palestinian officials believe that Ms. Abu Akleh was intentionally killed by an Israeli soldier.
The Israeli government cast doubt on it, saying she was hit by an Israeli soldier or a Palestinian gunman. Israeli officers said an Israeli soldier from Duvdevan, an elite unit, fired in Ms. Abu Akleh’s direction, but could not determine who shot her without examining the bullet.
One months-long investigation According to the New York Times, it was discovered that the bullet that killed Ms. Abu Akleh was fired from the approximate position of an Israeli military convoy early that morning, most likely by a soldier from a unit elite, corroborating eyewitness reports from the scene.
Forensic experts can match a bullet to the rifle that fired it, based on the microscopic marks left on the bullet’s surface as it exits the rifle barrel. But photographs show the bullet was partially crushed and an autopsy conducted by the Palestinian Authority concluded that the bullet entered Ms. Abu Akleh’s head and then lodged in the side of her helmet.
The US’s conclusion follows a week of stalemate in which the Palestinians refused to hand over the bullet to Israeli investigators, and the Israeli Army refused to give the rifle to the Palestinians.
The Biden administration was drawn to a mediator role after Israel said it could not determine whether its soldiers fired the fatal shot without being supplied with a bullet. However, Palestinian leaders said they did not trust Israeli investigators enough to deliver the bullet.
The need for a solution has become more pressing in recent days as it threatens to overshadow discussions during President Biden’s visit next week to Israel and the West Bank – his first to the region. as head of state.
Ms. Abu Akleh, a veteran TV reporter for Al Jazeera and a celebrity in the Middle East, was killed on May 11 while covering an early morning Israeli Army raid on the city. Jenin Street, West Bank.
Her killing sparked outrage around the world, and led to pressure on President Biden from US lawmakers, who demanded more US participation in the investigation into the death of a citizen. America.
For the Palestinian people, Abu Akleh’s death represents the danger and frustration of living under Israeli military occupation. Palestinian deaths rarely attract international scrutiny, and soldiers accused of crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank are rarely convicted.
But Israel has said she may have been killed by Palestinians who opened fire indiscriminately during clashes with Israeli soldiers, and denied reports that its soldiers intentionally harmed a journalist.
She was killed amid a wave of Palestinian attacks that left 19 Israelis and foreigners dead. Some of the attackers were from the Jenin region, and in response, the Israeli military conducted a number of raids into the area, in which its soldiers were frequently confronted by Palestinian gunfire.
