Israel to examine bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh – IDF spokesperson
TOVAH LAZAROFF
It was previously reported that the bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh would be given to US experts for investigation.
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Israel will be able to examine the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to determine if the shooter was an IDF soldier or a Palestinian gunman, military spokesman Brigadier-General Ran Kochav told Army Radio on Sunday.
He spoke just one day after Palestinian Authority Attorney-General Akram Khatib told the media that the bullet had been handed over to a US team of experts who had come to the region specifically for this purpose.
Kochav, however, said that “the examination won’t be an American one, the examination will be an Israeli one with an American presence.”
Mistrust in joint investigation
Abu Akleh, 51, an east Jerusalem resident who held US citizenship, was killed on May 11th while covering an IDF raid on a refugee camp in Jenin. The PA has blamed the IDF for her death. For reasons of mistrust the PA had not wanted to transfer the bullet to Israeli so that it could perform ballistic tests to see if the bullet match one of the rifles used by soldiers at the scene.
On Saturday, less than two weeks before US President Joe Biden is due to arrive in Israel, the PA relented and agreed to give to a US team.
Deputy Public Interior Minister Yoav Segalovitz (Yesh Atid) told army radio that it could take several days to conduct the necessary tests. He said that Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who heads his party, had been involved in securing an agreement to transfer the bullet.
“The matter was concluded only last night,” he said.
“the examination won’t be an American one, the examination will be an Israeli one with an American presence.”
Military spokesman Brigadier-General Ran Kochav
Who fired the bullet?
The IDF had said Abu Akleh was killed during an exchange of fire between the IDF and Palestinian gunmen and that it was not possible to conclusively determine which of the two forces was responsible for her death without the bullet.
Kochav said on Sunday, “we are waiting for the [test] results.” If they show “we killed her, then we will take responsibility.” If the bullet “can be matched then it will be matched,” Kochav said. “If we can’t make a determination then there won’t be a determination. If it can be determined that she was killed by armed Palestinians, then the Palestinians will be responsible.”
In any scenario, Kochav said, Israel regrets Abu Akleh’s death.
In an interview with Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday, Khatib insisted that Israel would not be conducting the ballistic tests on the bullet, explaining that the examination would take place at the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
“We got guarantees from the American coordinator that the examination will be conducted by them and that the Israeli side will not take part,” Al-Khatib told Voice of Palestine radio, adding that he expected the bullet to be returned on Sunday.
An embassy spokesperson said: “We don’t have anything new at this time.”
“We got guarantees from the American coordinator that the examination will be conducted by them and that the Israeli side will not take part.”
Palestinian Authority Attorney-General Akram Khatib
Reuters contributed to this report.
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