Palestinian Authority Demands Israel Hand Over Rifle That Killed Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

The Palestinian authorities today asked Israel to hand over the rifle that the Israeli Army would have used in the incident that caused the death of the journalist Shireen Abu Akleh after the Al Jazeera chain published an investigation this week in which it released an image of the bullet that killed her.

“We refuse to hand over the bullet with which Shireen was killed and we demand the handover of the weapon that was fired,” said the Palestinian prime minister, Mohamed Shtayeh, at a ceremony to mark the 40th day since the death of the Palestinian reporter, who died in May while covering an incursion by Israeli armed forces into the refugee camp in the city of Yenínin the occupied West Bank.

Israeli soldiers identified a rifle with which the shot that killed Abu Akleh |, but they assure that to confirm it they would need to do an analysis of the bullet. This remains in the hands of the Palestinian authorities, who refuse to give it or carry out a joint investigation by not trusting Israel.

This Friday, the channel Al Jazeera for which he worked Abu Akleh | since 1997, published his own investigation of her death and for the first time showed an image of the bullet that killed her.

The bullet is in the possession of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which carried out the initial official investigation.

The conclusion of the ANP and other independent investigations by media such as Globe Live Media, CNN or The Washington Post is that the journalist was shot dead by an Israeli soldier, which coincides with the testimonies of eyewitnesses at the time of death.

The recent investigation of Al Jazeera states that the bullet that killed her had a caliber of 5.56 millimeters, is used in M4 rifles and had a green tip like those designed to pierce armor, details that have been known for the first time.

Ballistic and forensic experts consulted by the Qatari channel analyzed the bullet using 3D models and concluded that it was made in the USA and corresponds to those used by the Israeli forces.

Since the incident, the Army claims to have investigated and reviewed the circumstances of the death of Abu Akleh, and the chief of the General Staff, Aviv Kohavi, ordered this week to expand the internal investigation and incorporated a senior officer with technological experience in the Intelligence Directorate.

The Army maintains that the shot could have come from an Israeli soldier or an armed Palestinian, since the journalist was in the line of fire. The rest of the investigations and eyewitnesses affirm that there were no armed Palestinians at the scene.