Israel will examine the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh “in the presence of the Americans,” Israeli Army spokesman Ran Kochav said Sunday, disputing Palestinian claims that U.S. experts would make the case. forensic analysis.
“The Israeli professional exam will be held in the presence of the Americans. If there is a match between the shell and the weapons of the Israeli soldiers, we will inform the public, “Kochav told Radio 103FM.
Experts say the ballistic analysis could shed definitive light on Abu Akleh’s death. The 51-year-old veteran Palestinian-American correspondent was killed in controversial circumstances in Jenin while covering an Israeli army raid in mid-May along with a team of other journalists.
The Palestinian Authority insisted for weeks that it would not deliver the bullet or conduct a joint investigation with Israel. But in a roundup, Ramallah moved the bullet Saturday night to the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem for a U.S. exam.
The death of Abu Akleh has been the subject of duels by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. During the attack, there was a shootout between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen. At some point, Abu Akleh was shot in the head.
Get the daily edition of The Times of Israel by email and never miss our main stories
By registering, you accept the conditions
The PA investigation found that Israeli soldiers had shot him dead.
Israel initially blamed Palestinian gunmen for the shooting, but later acknowledged that Abu Akleh may also have been killed by Israeli soldiers. Israeli authorities have even identified a gun that could have fired the deadly shot, but say they cannot definitively establish the matter without a forensic analysis.
Palestinian Authority Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib on the left and AP President Mahmoud Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh announce the results of the Palestinian investigation into the journalist’s death. Al Jazeera Shireen Abu Akleh, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, in May. 26, 2022. (Photo AP / Majdi Mohammed)
The round is currently in the custody of a senior U.S. military official, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. U.S. ballistics experts would examine the shell, not Israel, said Palestinian Authority chief prosecutor Akram al-Khatib.
“The bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh will not be transferred to the Israeli side,” al-Khatib said in a statement Saturday night.
But Kochav appeared to dispute those claims on Sunday, telling Army radio that an American general would watch the Israeli investigation while the bullet was in Israel.
“This is an Israeli examination, an Israeli investigation, with an American presence. The Palestinians who so kindly transferred the bullet did so so that there would be an Israeli investigation with an American presence,” he said.
Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, a veteran Al Jazeera journalist who was shot dead during clashes between IDF troops and Palestinian gunmen while covering an IDF raid on Jenin on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (Courtesy)
Israel had offered to conduct a joint investigation with Ramallah since Abu Akleh was shot. Israeli officials have said a ballistic analysis is needed to match the weapon with the bullet to determine if an Israeli soldier fired the deadly bullet.
The AP has repeatedly rejected these offers, as has Abu Akleh’s family. Palestinian officials initially refused to share the round with the United States, saying they would share the results of their own investigation with stakeholders.
The US had urged Ramallah to share the results of his investigation with Israel in order to shed potentially definitive light on the incident. In a public letter in early June, a bipartisan group of 25 U.S. lawmakers urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pressure the Palestinian Authority to release the bullet.
“We urge you to ask the Palestinian Authority to provide access to forensic evidence of Abu Akleh’s death for an independent investigation so that all parties can reach a definitive conclusion on the events that led to his death and demand accountability from all parties, ”lawmakers said. he wrote.
It’s not (just) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel is not a transaction for an online service, such as a Netflix subscription. The ToI community is for people like you who care about a common good: making sure balanced, responsible coverage of Israel remains available to millions of people around the world for free.
Of course, we’ll remove all ads from your page and you’ll have access to amazing content just for the community. But your support gives you something deeper than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the community Times of Israel Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You are a dedicated reader
We are very happy that you have read articles from the X Times of Israel over the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago, to offer demanding readers like you mandatory coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not created any payment wall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important in helping us support our work by joining The Times of Israel community.
For just $ 6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel WITHOUT ADVERTISING, as well as access to exclusive content available only to members of the Times of Israel community.
Thank you, David Horovitz, founding editor of The Times of Israel
Join our community Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this