Israeli Forces Deliberately Shot Journalist Using Armor-Piercing Bullets, Palestinian Investigation Finds

The Palestinian Authority has released the results of its investigation into the fatal shooting of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, claiming that Israeli forces deliberately shot and killed the veteran reporter using armor-piercing bullets.

The results of the investigation echoed the findings of a preliminary probe announced nearly two weeks ago and were widely expected amid global outrage over the killing of the victim. On Thursday, Palestinian Attorney General Akram al-Khatib spoke to reporters in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

Fatal Shooting of Palestinian Journalist

The official said that it was clear that one of the Israeli occupation forces fired a bullet that struck journalist Abu Akleh directly in her head while she was trying to flee the area. The 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist was fatally shot with an armor-piercing bullet while wearing a helmet and a vest that was clearly marked with the word "PRESS."

Al-Khatib was reporting on the findings of a Palestinian Authority (PA) investigation that was looking into the fatal shooting of Abu Akleh. The journalist was shot on May 11 while covering an Israeli army raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, as per Aljazeera.

The official said that the only source of firing was by the occupation forces with the aim to kill their targets. He added that his investigation was based on interviews with witnesses, an inspection of the scene of the incident, and a forensic medical report.

Previously, witnesses and colleagues who were present at the scene of the incident said that Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces. The media outlet that the journalist worked for, Al Jazeera Media Network, said that their employee was "assassinated in cold blood."

According to The Guardian, Israeli officials rejected the findings with Defense Minister Benny Gantz calling the results a "blatant lie." Al-Khatib echoed the Palestinian position that the bullet not be handed over to the Israelis for study and that it was decided not to show images to "deprive [Israel] of a new lie."

Israel's Denial

On Thursday, Israeli Defense Force chief of general staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi said in a speech that it was impossible to know who fired the bullet and once again called on the Palestinians to cooperate to "get to the bottom" of what happened. The official added that one thing was for certain, that no soldier fired intentionally at a journalist, arguing that an investigation was conducted into the incident.

Israeli officials have denied that soldiers were targeting journalists and offered two possible scenarios, saying that the reporter was either shot by Palestinian militants who were firing recklessly at an Israeli army convoy or that she was struck by Israeli gunfire aimed at a nearby militant.

United States President Joe Biden's administration has called for a thorough investigation and accountability into the killing of Abu Akleh. On Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the U.S. government made it clear to both Israeli and Palestinian authorities that they were expecting the investigations to be transparent and impartial, requiring a full thorough accounting of the circumstances of the killing of the journalist, Axios reported.