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Blinken urged Lapid to take further steps in the investigation into the journalistic killing in Jenin - Walla! news

2022-07-07T14:11:56.305Z


The US Secretary of State signaled in his conversation with the Prime Minister that from the point of view of the administration, the affair is still open. New details behind the scenes: Israel and the Palestinians expressed anger to the United States over the conclusions of the investigation and tried to change the wording in their favor. As a result, the publication of the American announcement was postponed from Sunday to Monday.


Blinken urged Lapid to take further steps in the investigation into the journalistic killing in Jenin

The US Secretary of State signaled in his conversation with the Prime Minister that from the point of view of the administration, the affair is still open.

New details behind the scenes: Israel and the Palestinians expressed anger to the United States over the conclusions of the investigation and tried to change the wording in their favor. As a result, the publication of the American announcement was postponed from Sunday to Monday.

Lightning Ravid

07/07/2022

Thursday, 07 July 2022, 11:25 Updated: 16:07

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In the video: Ganz refers to the American investigation that determined that it is not possible to determine who shot journalist Sheerin Abu Akala (Photo: Ministry of Defense spokeswoman)

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke by telephone yesterday (Wednesday) with Prime Minister Yair Lapid and stressed to him that the Biden government expects Israel to take further steps following the conclusions of the investigation into the death of Palestinian-American journalist Sheerin Abu Akala - Walla!

U.S. State Department officials.

Urges to take action.

Sheerin Abu Akala (Photo: screenshot, documentation on social networks according to section 27A of the Copyright Law)

why is it important:

  • In Israel, they hoped that the results of the ballistic test of the bullet from which Abu Akla was killed and the US State Department's announcement on the subject would lead to the closure of the affair.

    Blinken's remarks signal that for the United States, at least at the declaratory level, the affair is not over yet.

  • Blinken's remarks come amid internal criticism in the left wing of the Democratic Party and in parts of the American media about the Biden administration's announcement regarding the investigation into the death of Sheerin Abu Akala, which they claim was softened and lax in terms of Israel's responsibility for the incident.

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To the full article

In the news center:

  • The conversation was intended to deal with congratulations on the occasion of Lapid's entry into the post of Prime Minister and preparations for President Biden's visit to Israel, but Blinken also raised the conclusions of the investigation by the US Security Coordinator regarding the death of Sheerin Abu Akala published on Monday.

  • Two experts from the US Security Coordinator's team performed a ballistic test on Sunday for the bullet from which the Palestinian-American journalist was killed.

    The test results were not unequivocal because of the extensive damage done to the bullet.

    As a result, the US Security Coordinator announced that it was not possible to determine from which weapon the bullet that killed Abu Akala was fired.

  • However, the US Security Coordinator determined based on the summary of the Israeli investigation and the Palestinian investigation that Abu Akala was apparently killed by IDF soldiers.

For the US, at least at the declarative level, the affair is not over yet. Blinken (Photo: screenshot, Reuters)

Behind the Scenes:

  • Neither Israel nor the Palestinians were satisfied with the American conclusions and the wording of the statement formulated by the US State Department.

    Two Israeli officials involved in the affair said that both sides protested to the United States in closed talks and tried to influence the wording of the US announcement, which led to the postponement of its publication from Sunday to Monday.

  • U.S. officials said the delay in publishing the announcement stemmed from the Biden administration's desire to brief Israelis and Palestinians on top of every detail.

    U.S. officials have acknowledged that after briefing Israel and the Palestinians on the conclusions, both sides protested and pressured them to change the wording of the statement.

  • Israel was angry that the US announcement stated that Abu Akala was apparently killed by IDF soldiers, despite the fact that the bullet ballistic test results were not unequivocal.

  • Senior Israeli officials told the Americans that the United States could not symmetry between the Israeli investigation based on the interrogation of the soldiers, inspections conducted on the ground and the communication networks and logs of operations, and the Palestinian investigation that Israel claimed was superficial, trending and unfounded.

Fierce and long-running debates between Israel and the United States over the wording of the announcement.

Lapid (Photo: Official Website, Mark Israel Salem)

  • "We told the Americans that if the results of the ballistic test were not unequivocal, the conclusions of the investigation should also be unequivocal," he told Walla!

    Senior Israeli.

    "We thought the Americans should have been more careful in their determination which was based in part on the Palestinian investigation."

  • Senior Israeli officials said that on Sunday night and Monday morning there were heated and lengthy debates between Israel and the United States over the wording of the American announcement.

    "There was an argument about every word and every comma," said a senior Israeli official.

  • The Palestinians also did not like the American announcement.

    The Palestinian leadership thought that the agreement to give the Americans the bullet would lead to a clear conclusion of the ballistic test that the shooting was carried out by IDF soldiers and were disappointed when it did not happen.

  • Palestinian anger also stemmed from the American determination that the shooting from which Shirin Abu Akala was killed was unintentional.

    A senior US official said the Palestinians had expressed anger at senior US State Department officials and claimed that Israel had assassinated Abu Akala.

What they say:

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday that the purpose of the U.S. announcement "was not to please either side" but to present from them the findings of the U.S. Security Coordinator's investigation so far.



"We have had extensive consultations and talks on the issue with both Israel and the Palestinians," Price said.

What next:

  • Senior Israeli officials confirmed that Blinken said these things in a conversation with Lapid, but noted that at this stage there are no other actions that Israel intends to take on the issue, apart from the internal processes in the IDF.

  • Following the ballistic review and the publication of the American announcement, Chief of Staff Kochavi instructed to complete the operational investigation of the incident in which Abu Akala was killed.

  • After the completion of the investigation, the Chief Military Prosecutor will decide whether there is a reason to open a criminal investigation by the MPC.

  • The Palestinians, for their part, do not accept the American conclusions and intend to continue working on the issue before the International Criminal Court in Bug.

  • news

  • Political-political

Tags

  • reporters

  • Yair Lapid

  • Anthony Blinken

  • United States

  • Palestinians

Source: walla

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