Out of mistrust of Israel, the Palestinians have the United States investigate the death of the al-Dashira reporter. The forensic examination of the deadly bullet leaves many questions unanswered. Abu Akleh probably died from Israeli gunfire, but unintentionally, it is vaguely said.
According to the US State Department, the reporter for the TV station Al-Jazeera who was killed in the West Bank in May probably died as a result of shots fired by the Israeli military. However, the forensic analysis of the bullet did not produce a clear conclusion because it was badly damaged, a ministry spokesman said in Washington.
According to the US investigation, which, according to the ministry, summarizes the findings from the Israeli and Palestinian sides, the journalist Shirin Abu Akleh, who is well-known in the Arab world, was not intentionally hit. Palestinian investigators had insisted that the sphere should be examined by the US and then returned to the Palestinian Authority. The authority had been assured that no changes would be made to the ball, it said on Friday.
The 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist was killed in a fierce firefight between Israeli security forces and militant Palestinians during a raid in Jenin. Israelis initially said she may have been hit by bullets from the Palestinians, but it was not possible to determine which side was responsible for the fatal shots.
Al-Jazeera, on the other hand, had accused Israel of targeted, cold-blooded murder. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also spoke of a “crime of execution”. Al-Jazeera wrote that the reporter reported on the raid while wearing a vest with the easy-to-read word “press” written on it. Research by the US news broadcaster CNN had also indicated that the Israeli army was responsible for Abu Akleh’s death and that the Israeli army might have deliberately intended to kill him.
The Palestinian from East Jerusalem has been working for the Qatari broadcaster for more than 20 years. She was particularly well known in the Arab world for her reporting on the Middle East conflict. Al-Jazeera condemned the fatal shooting as “a heinous crime aimed at preventing media coverage”.
