The Palestinian Authority (PA) denounced “manipulation” of investigations into the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist for Al Jazeera, on Monday.
Abu Akleh, 51, was shot and killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank near the Jenin refugee camp.
Palestinian officials and the journalist’s employer, Al Jazeera, accused Israel of murdering the journalist, while Tel Aviv denied responsibility.
The PA announced on Saturday that it has given the bullet that killed Abu Akleh to a US team for a forensic assessment.
On Monday, the United States stated that there was no “definitive finding” regarding the origin of the bullet. However, the study stated that Israeli gunfire was “likely” to blame for the journalist’s death.
“We will not accept under any circumstances the manipulation of the results of Palestinian investigations, and we will continue the procedures on her assassination in international courts, particularly the International Criminal Court, because Israel is responsible for her murder and must bear the consequences,” PA spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh was quoted as saying by state news agency Wafa.
Abu Rudeineh “truly lamented” the Israeli government’s denial of responsibility for the journalist’s death, and he urged the United States administration to retain its integrity and hold Israel completely accountable for the murder of Abu Akleh.
On May 26, Palestinian Attorney-General Akram al-Khatib revealed that an investigation of the body of Abu Akleh confirmed that she was killed by an armor-piercing round fired directly at her head by an Israeli sniper.
Several prominent news organizations, including Al Jazeera, CNN, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, performed their own investigations and concluded that Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli bullet.
