US says Abu Akleh bullet test inconclusive, IDF likely shot her by mistake

Israeli officials disappointed American probe doesn’t exonerate IDF in killing of Al Jazeera reporter; Palestinians assail conclusions, say Israeli soldiers definitively to blame

A US government probe concluded on Monday that an Israeli soldier likely unintentionally shot the fatal bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, although ballistic analysis was unable to establish conclusively whether the shot came from an Israeli gun or a Palestinian one.

“Ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement after American officials were allowed to oversee an examination of the shell, which had been withheld by the Palestinian Authority until Saturday.

Abu Akleh, an American citizen, was killed during an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp in mid-May. During the arrest operation, a firefight broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen, and Abu Akleh was shot in the head, with Israeli and Palestinian officials trading blame.

For weeks, Israeli military officials said that they had identified a soldier’s gun that may have fired the shot that killed Abu Akleh, but said that confirmation would require ballistic analysis to match the gun to the bullet. But the Palestinian Authority refused to turn over the round or conduct a joint investigation with Israel. Ramallah’s own investigation found that Abu Akleh had been shot from behind by Israeli troops.

The PA only agreed to transfer the round to the US embassy in Jerusalem for examination on Saturday. Palestinian officials claimed that American experts would examine the bullet, but according to the Israeli army, an American general merely observed an Israeli investigation.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-says-abu-akleh-bullet-test-inconclusive-idf-likely-shot-reporter-by-mistake/