The Palestinian Authority has handed the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to the United States for examination, according to Attorney General Akram Khatib.
A condition for handing over the bullet was that it would not be passed on to Israel, Khatib told the Voice of Palestine broadcaster.
However, Israel would be involved in the testing, military spokesperson Ran Kochav later said on Israeli army radio.
“It will be an Israeli examination with US presence,” the spokesperson said. “We are waiting for the results. If we have killed her, we will take over the responsibility and regret it.”
Akleh, a well known journalist in the Arab world who was also a US citizen, was killed in May during an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the northern West Bank. The incident further escalated tensions in the region and triggered global outrage.
Khatib has previously blamed Israel for Akleh’s death, noting that the bullet had come from the direction of Israeli soldiers.
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Israel rejected such accusations following an internal investigation which concluded that it was not clear where the deadly shot had come from. The army reported that there had been fierce exchanges of fire at the time with Palestinian militants in Jenin.
The Palestinian leadership has repeatedly rejected Israeli offers for a joint examination of the incident.
Among others, German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck had criticized the handling of the case during a recent visit to the region and called for full clarification.
US President Joe Biden is expected to visit the Middle East later this month.
it was earlier reported that, Al Jazeera published on Thursday an image of the bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh last month, the Middle East Monitor reported.
The news network said the photograph showed the type of ammunition used to kill Abu Akleh for the first time.
The ballistic and forensic experts concluded that the green-tipped bullet was designed to pierce armor and is used in an M4 rifle, Al Jazeera said, noting that the round was extracted from her head.
“The bullet was analyzed using 3D models and, according to experts, it was a 5.56mm caliber – the same used by Israeli forces. The round was designed and manufactured in the United States,” experts said.
The results of the initial forensic medicine report indicated that the direct cause of death was brain damage following the impact of a high-velocity bullet.
The bullet penetrated the skull causing an entry wound and then exited from the cavity, causing another wound. Following that, the bullet hit the internal side of the protective helmet, ricocheted and lodged in the damaged tissues inside the skull.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that the Israeli army investigation showed that Abu Akleh was standing 150 meters away from the Israeli forces when she was shot and killed.
According to the paper, Israeli soldiers of Unit 217, frequently called Duvdevan, were present during Abu Akleh’s death and fired a few rounds.
Israel assassinated Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11, while she was covering the occupation army’s storming of the Jenin refugee camp. The 51-year-old was wearing a flak jacket clearly displaying the word “Press” and had a helmet on, but was still shot in the head by an Israeli sniper. Her colleagues were also shot at as they tried to rescue her.
Pallbearers at her funeral were also beaten with batons as Israel Police crackdown on her funeral procession as it traveled through occupied East Jerusalem.
