According to the State Department, Monday’s conclusion that Israeli gunfire killed Shireen Abu Akleh (Palestinian American journalist), was confirmed by the U.S., which added that there was no reason to believe that her shooting was deliberate.
Abu Akleh was killed by a bullet in the occupied West Bank in May. The bullet’s damage was so severe that an American forensic team that was overseen by U.S. officials could not determine its source, Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department, stated in a statement.
Price stated that he was granted access to both Israeli as well as Palestinian investigations in the last few weeks. The U.S. Security coordinator, who oversees the investigation, “concluded” that IDF positions were likely responsible. The country’s military force is called the IDF (or Israel Defense Forces).
According to the statement, U.S. investigators found no reason not to believe this was intentional but rather tragic circumstances during an IDF raid against the militant group Islamic Jihad. This raid came “following a series terror attacks in Israel”.
Investigations by the United Nations, along with a number of independent Western media outlets, found that Israeli fire was responsible. Washington’s involvement in the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be viewed as important.
In its own statement, the IDF stated that the source of the gunfire was not known. It also said that it had concluded that no IDF soldier intentionally fired on Ms. Abu Akleh.
Hussein Al Sheikh is the head of civil affairs at the Palestinian Authority. He tweeted that the Israeli government of “occupation” “bears the responsibility for the assassination.”
B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, stated that the U.S.-backed whitewash was behind the investigation. In a statement, it criticised Washington for trying to “dismiss the killing as an accidental event and not as a crime for whom those responsible should be held accountable.”
Abu Akleh was killed while covering the West Bank raid on May 11. Abu Akleh’s killing and subsequent feud as well as a crackdown by Israeli police at her funeral have increased tensions between them before President Joe Biden visits.
Palestinians accuse Israel of deliberately killing them. Israel claims that Abu Akleh was killed by errant fire from one its soldiers, or nearby Palestinian gunmen clashing with its forces.
Al Jazeera staffers who witnessed the incident as well as another reporter who sustained injuries have confirmed that Israeli forces opened fire on their colleague.
Abu Akleh was accompanied by several reporters, one of whom was wounded and another who was shot. They said that there were no Palestinian militants or clashes in the area where she was killed. They were all wearing protective gear that clearly identified them to be members of the media.
The U.N. human rights officer stated last month that its investigations found that she was not shot at random from Palestinians but by IDF fire.
Israel demanded that the Palestinians hand over the bullet which killed Abu Akleh to allow it to carry out forensic analysis and determine who fired it. This was in response to increasing domestic and international pressure. Washington intervened, but there was some disagreement over what Washington meant by that request.
Officials from Palestine claimed that they handed the bullet over to U.S. officials in exchange for assurances that Israel would not perform the ballistics test. However, Israeli officials stated that the test would be conducted by them with supervision by U.S. officials.
U.S. Security coordinator, a team of Defense Department officials, stated in its statement that it had supervised and been allowed full access to the analysis.
