US State Dept: No conclusion reached on origin of bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist

The US State Department said, on Monday, that independent investigators could not reach a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, after conducting detailed forensic analysis, Reuters reports.

The US Security Coordinator, by summarising investigations by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, also concluded that gunfire from Israeli Defense Force positions was likely responsible for her death, but that it found no reason to believe that this was intentional.

On 26 May, Palestinian Attorney-General Akram Al-Khatib, announced that an examination of Abu Akleh’s body confirmed that she was killed by an armour-piercing projectile fired directly at her head by an Israeli sniper.

Several leading media agencies, including Al Jazeera, CNN, the Associated Press, The Washington Post and The New York Times conducted investigations which all came to the conclusion that Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli bullet.

READ:  Palestine probe: Israel sniper ‘deliberately’ targeted Shireen Abu Akleh