After nearly two months, the Palestinian Authority has handed over to U.S. authorities the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, according to a report published Sunday by Reuters. Abu Akleh was shot dead on May 11 during clashes between Palestinian terrorists and Israel Defense Forces troops in Jenin.
According to Reuters, the P.A. agreed to transfer the bullet after receiving assurances from Washington that Israeli officials would not participate in any future ballistic analyses. The wire service cited Akram al-Khatib, general prosecutor for the Palestinian Authority, as saying that the testing would take place at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
Al-Khatib reportedly told Voice of Palestine radio, “We got guarantees from the American coordinator that the examination will be conducted by them and that the Israeli side will not take part.”
However, this account was contradicted by IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav, who on Sunday told Army Radio that, “The (ballistic) test will not be American. The test will be an Israeli test, with an American presence throughout.
“In the coming days or hours it will be become clear whether it was even us who killed her, accidentally, or whether it was the Palestinian gunmen,” Kochav added.
The U.S. administration has not yet commented on the matter.
