Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh, who is responsible for relations with Israel, said on Thursday morning, that the PA has refused an Israeli request to hand over the bullet that was removed from the body of Al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed Wednesday morning during a gun battle between IDF troops and Palestinian terrorists in Jenin.
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According to al-Sheikh, the investigation will be carried out independently by the PA and the findings will be given to the relevant bodies, including the United States. Al-Sheikh said all signs indicate that the journalist was killed by IDF gunfire.
On Wednesday night, thousands protested in various locations against the death of Abu Akleh, blaming Israel for killing her.
Several hundred people gathered outside her family home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. Earlier, disturbances were reported in the neighborhood when the police tried to disperse a protest march where some of the protesters were carrying the Palestinian flag.
Several thousand Palestinians gathered at Al-Jazeera's offices in Ramallah, holding signs with Abu Akleh's picture.
The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry immediately launched a public relations campaign across the globe, claiming that Israel committed a war crime. Earlier, a senior PA official told Israel Hayom that the PA had asked the Americans to order an independent investigation with international investigators.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization said via its branch in Jenin that the "occupation forces failed miserably in their effort to arrest the Palestinian fighters [Wednesday morning] in Jenin. We will continue to be the protective armor of the Palestinian people and the death of the shahid [martyr, in Arabic] Shireen Abu Akleh will not be in vain. We will not allow the enemy to invade our cities and villages without our resistance and we will force him to pay a price for his crimes."
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli defense official said the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit had requested the bullet that was found in Abu Akleh's body in order to run a forensic test to determine the source of the gunfire. For the sake of transparency, Israeli officials proposed that Palestinian and American representatives be present during the testing.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price signaled that the Biden administration would not call for an independent investigation into the killing. "The Israelis have the wherewithal and the capabilities to conduct a thorough, comprehensive investigation," Price told reporters during a press briefing.
The White House, for its part, strongly condemned the killing of Abu Akleh and called for an investigation into her death.
White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking to reporters on Air Force One as US President Joe Biden flew to Illinois, said, "We call for a thorough investigation into her death."
Also Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota denounced the killing of Abu Akleh and called for Israel to be held accountable.
"She was killed by the Israeli military, after making her presence as a journalist clearly known," the progressive lawmaker tweeted. "We provide Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid annually with no restrictions. What will it take for accountability for these human rights violations?"
Al-Jazeera said in a statement that Israeli forces killed Abu Akleh, condemning it as "a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms." The news outlet also said that Abu Akleh was wearing press gear that clearly identified her as a journalist when she was killed. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan also spoke out against the murder on Wednesday.
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"When will the world and those who stand by Apartheid Israel that continues to murder, torture and commit war crimes finally say: 'Enough'?" she wrote on Twitter.
"Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered by a government that receives unconditional funding by our country with zero accountability," Tlaib added.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for a "thorough, objective investigation" into Abu Akleh's killing, decrying it as a "horrific tragedy."
