Middle East Monitor / June 18, 2022
The Israeli occupation army has issued a new call to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to hand over the bullet that killed Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, an Israeli army spokesperson announced on Friday.
This came following reports about independent investigations by The Washington Post and Al-Jazeera.
Last month, the Israeli army opened fire at Abu Akleh and her crew during a military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
A Palestinian probe conveyed that an Israeli soldier deliberately shot Abu Akleh. Israel has rejected this as blatantly false and said it could not definitively accept any investigation findings before examining the bullet, which the PA refuses to share.
Chief of Staff of the Israeli army Aviv Kohavi had ordered the team investigating the killing to be expanded: “To deepen the study of documentary evidence from that night.”
The team has now been joined by: “A senior officer with specialized technological abilities from the intelligence department.”
While The Washington Post probe depended primarily on witnesses, Al-Jazeera’s depends on analyzing the bullet that killed the journalist.
Al-Jazeera reported ballistic and forensic experts, who confirmed that the bullet extracted from the journalist’s head was designed to pierce armour and is used in M4 rifles.
The bullet was analyzed using 3D models and was 5.56mm calibre – the same used by Israeli forces.
