"Whitewash": US Says IDF Shot That Killed Palestinian-US Journalist Was Accidental

In an announcement timed to receive minimal coverage, the State Department on July 4th said that a U.S. review of the shooting of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh concluded the fatal bullet likely came from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). However, in what critics are calling a baseless whitewashing of the incident that ignores key facts of the case, the U.S. government said there's "no reason to believe" it was intentional.

The U.S. announcement came 10 days before President Biden is slated to visit Israel on July 14 and 15. The trip will also take him to Saudi Arabia. With the kingdom having slaughtered Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi, both hosts will have the shadow of a slain journalist hanging over them.

Abu Akleh, a star reporter for al Jazeera, was shot in the head on May 11 in the West Bank town of Jenin, as she and her crew reported on an Israeli raid on a refugee camp. In the immediate aftermath, the Israeli government rushed to blame "Palestinian terrorists firing indiscriminately," while witnesses said an IDF unit was the clear culprit.

In a three-paragraph statement, State Department spokeman Ned Price said, "After an extremely detailed forensic analysis, independent third-party examiners, as part of a process overseen by the U.S. Security Coordinator (USSC), could not reach a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet" as "ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion."

However, Price said that, after reviewing both the IDF and Palestinian Authority investigations,

"The USSC concluded that gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. The USSC found no reason to believe that this was intentional but rather the result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation against factions of Palestinian Islamic Jihad on May 11, 2022, in Jenin, which followed a series of terrorist attacks in Israel."

It would be one thing for the State Department to say it could not determine whether the killing was intentional; it's another altogether to declare there's "no reason" whatsoever to think so.

Indeed, a weapons expert consulted by CNN noted the tight shot group on the tree where Akleh stood is consistent with carefully aimed fire—and Abu Akleh and her crew were wearing blue helmets and matching vests marked "PRESS."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/whitewash-us-says-idf-shot-killed-palestinian-us-journalist-was-accidental