American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, killed on May 11 in the occupied West Bank, was “likely” the victim of a shooting from an Israeli position, the American experts having “no reason” to believe that it was intentional shooting, the State Department said Monday.
The American analysis, however, could not reach a definitive conclusion as to the origin of the bullet that killed the correspondent of Al-Jazeera, who was covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin that day, the projectile being "very damaged,” the statement said.
His family said they were "appalled".
On Saturday, the Palestinian Authority handed over to the Americans for expertise the bullet that killed the American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, star reporter for the Al-Jazeera channel, in May.
The United States has pledged to return it to the Palestinians.
According to Palestinian sources in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, the expertise was conducted at the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Read alsoWho is Shireen Abu Akleh, the journalist shot dead during an operation in the West Bank?
According to the Palestinian investigation, the star journalist of Al-Jazeera was killed by a 5.56 mm caliber bullet fired by an Israeli soldier who used an M-14, a semi-automatic weapon.
Journalistic investigations have also pointed in the direction of the Israeli army.
UN 'troubled' by lack of investigation on Israeli side
And on June 24, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded that the journalist had been killed by Israeli fire.
"All the information we have gathered, including from the Israeli army and the Palestinian attorney general, corroborates the fact that the shots that killed Mrs. Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli forces and not from indiscriminate fire from Palestinians armed as initially claimed by the Israeli authorities,” said a spokeswoman for the High Commission Ravina Shamdasani.
“We found no information suggesting that there was any activity by armed Palestinians near the journalists,” said Ravina Shamdasani, saying it was “deeply disturbing that the Israeli authorities did not open a 'judicial investigation ".
VIDEO.
Death of Shireen Abu Akleh: violence at the exit of the hospital from the coffin of the Palestinian journalist
Israel has denied all of these accusations.
The Israeli army keeps saying that it is “impossible to determine whether (the journalist) was killed by a Palestinian gunman firing indiscriminately in the area where she was, or inadvertently by an Israeli soldier”.
The Israeli army also carried out its own ballistic examination, in a laboratory in Israel: “Israeli experts examined the bullet (…), American security officials were present during this whole process”, she said. simply indicated.
The Palestinian Authority immediately accused Israel of "hiding the truth".