Israel has said it will conduct forensic tests on the bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, a day after Palestinian officials handed over the evidence to a U.S. security coordinator to examine what they said. which was the condition that Israel should not be. involved.
The tests will be conducted by Israeli investigators in the presence of U.S. observers, Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Ran Kochav told army radio on Sunday.
Akram al-Khatib, the attorney general of the Palestinian Authority (PA), told Voice of Palestine radio that the test would be done at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, but that “we have assurances from the U.S. coordinator that the examination will be conducted by them and that the Israeli side will not participate ”.
The new dispute threatens to derail what on Saturday appeared to be an important step in resolving a clash between Israel and the Palestinians over an investigation into the death of journalist Al Jazeera.
The 51-year-old journalist, a well-known figure in the Arab world, was shot in the head in the West Bank city of Jenin in May during what her local colleagues said was a burst of fire. Israeli against a group of people. journalists covering an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) raid. Abu Aqleh wore a helmet and a protective vest clearly marked “press”.
Images of Israeli police storming Abu Aqleh’s funeral procession in Jerusalem, causing bearers to almost drop their coffins, heightened Palestinian and international outrage.
Israel initially blamed the journalist’s death on Palestinian militants, but has since acknowledged that IDF may have killed her “accidentally.” The military has said it has identified the rifle that could have been used, but that it cannot draw any conclusions if it is not compared to the bullet.
The Palestinian Authority previously rejected an Israeli offer to conduct a joint investigation under US supervision, saying it did not trust Israel and that its army had deliberately attacked Abu Aqleh.
Army data released under Israel’s Freedom of Information Act and analyzed by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, shows that Israeli soldiers have almost total impunity for prosecution in cases where Palestinians they are harmed.
The U.S. embassy said it had “nothing new at this time” related to the IDF’s Sunday statements that Israeli experts would be involved in the forensic investigation, contrary to what the Palestinian Authority says. he told him.
The UN, the EU and the Palestinian Authority have called for an independent investigation into Abu Aqleh’s death, and the Palestinians have referred the case to the international criminal court.
The new chapter in the narrative war over the journalist’s assassination came just over a week before Joe Biden’s planned visit to Israel and the West Bank, putting a diplomatic and internal test for the new prime minister. Israel, Yair Lapid.
A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a diplomatic matter, told the Associated Press that the issue had been raised in a recent phone call between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Secretary of State. of the USA, Antony Blinken. and that both sides hoped to resolve the issue before Biden’s arrival on 13 July.
Abu Aqleh’s brother, Anton, said in a statement Saturday night that the family was not “consulted or informed by any party, official or not, that [a US-Palestinian investigation]It was under construction or had been fixed “, calling the lack of transparency” alarming “.
“We have serious doubts that this process will lead to accountability. We will remain vigilant in our efforts to get justice for Shireen, no matter the obstacles, and we will watch this process closely and with an extremely critical eye, ”he said.