Israeli army ‘probably’ killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

The Israeli army is “likely” to have killed the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the United States said yesterday.

A joint Israeli-American analysis failed to match the bullet to either side in clashes between the Israel Defence Forces and a Palestinian faction, which Abu Akleh was covering when she was shot in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on May 11.

However, the White House has been anxious to wrap up the investigation before President Biden arrives for a visit to the region next week.

The Palestinian Authority agreed at the weekend to pass the 5.56mm bullet to the US. Israeli analysts, overseen by US officials, tried to match it to the rifle of a soldier who had fired towards Abu Akleh’s Al Jazeera team. Damage to the bullet did not allow for a conclusive match, however.

Investigations by news organisations including CNN and Bellingcat concluded from video and sound recordings that Abu Akleh had been killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli government tried to deflect accusations, but an official confirmed to The Times “it is almost entirely certain that it was one of our soldiers who pulled the trigger”.

The Israeli army said it would “continue to examine and investigate”, but did not acknowledge that Abu Akleh was probably hit by one of its soliders.

The US said there was “no reason to believe that this was intentional”. Abu Akleh’s family rejected this, saying: “The Israeli military killed Shireen according to policies that view all Palestinians . . . as legitimate targets.” The Palestinian Authority also rejected the findings.