The Palestinian Authority on Saturday said it has given the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to American forensic experts, taking a step toward resolving a standoff with Israel over the investigation into her death.
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The announcement came just over a week before President Joe Biden is to visit Israel and the occupied West Bank for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. It signaled that both sides may be working to find a solution to the deadlock.
Abu Akleh, a veteran correspondent who was well known throughout the Arab world, was fatally shot while covering an Israeli military raid on May 11 in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.
The Palestinians, along with Abu Akleh's colleagues who were with her at the time, say she was killed by Israeli fire. The Israeli military says that she was caught in the crossfire of a battle with Palestinian terrorists in a town that is a known Islamic Jihad stronghold and that it is impossible to determine which side killed her without analyzing the bullet.
Israel says it has identified the rifle that may have shot her, but that it cannot draw any conclusions unless it is compared to the bullet. The Palestinians have refused to turn over the bullet, saying they don't trust Israel. Rights groups say Israel has a poor record investigating shootings of Palestinians by its troops, with probes languishing for months or years before they are quietly closed.
PA Attorney General Akram al-Khateeb said the bullet was given to US experts "for technical work."
He reiterated the Palestinian refusal to share the bullet with the Israelis but said the Palestinians welcome the participation of any international bodies to "help us confirm the truth."
"We are confident and certain of our investigations and the results we have reached," he said.
It was not immediately clear what the American experts could discover without also studying the Israeli weapon. It also was not clear whether Israel would turn over the rifle to the Americans. The Israeli military declined comment, and US Embassy's Office of Palestinian Affairs said it had "no new information to offer."
A Palestinian official said the issue was raised in a phone call between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken and that both sides hope to resolve the issue before Biden's arrival on July 13.
Israel is preparing for several scenarios that can emerge from the forensic investigation of the bullet, Israel Hayom has learned.
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In the coming days, Israeli and US representatives will examine the bullet, and if the test reveals that it had indeed been fired from an Israeli weapon, the heads of the state will take responsibility.
Nevertheless, political and security officials are also considering the possibility of the PA having provided an Israeli bullet from a different event.
