US Investigators Examine Bullet That Killed Reporter Shireen Abu Akleh

GAZA (Sputnik) - US investigators have finished examining the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh back in May, Palestinian Minister of Justice, Mohammad Fahhad Al-Shalaldeh said.

The Palestinian Authority passed the bullet to American investigators on Sunday morning.

Al-Shalaldeh told Al Jazeera on Sunday that the bullet had been handed over to the US side and then returned after all the necessary lab tests were carried out.

Israeli army spokesperson Ran Kochav told Radio 103F earlier on Sunday that the examination of the bullet was going to be carried out by Israel, in the presence of the Americans.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority chief prosecutor Akram al-Khatib said on Saturday night, as quoted by The Times of Israel, that the round would be examined by American ballistics experts, not Israel.

Shireen Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist, was shot on May 11 while covering an Israeli raid in the West Bank. Reporters on the scene said they were targeted by Israeli snipers when the group was alone in the streets of Jenin and were clearly identifiable as being members of the press. Israel blamed armed Palestinians, who were allegedly firing randomly, for the incident, while Palestine accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in June that the UN's investigation "found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists" and added that "it is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation."

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the IDF have repeatedly urged the Palestinian authorities to hand over the bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh, while the Palestinian side had refused to provide the bullet or carry out a joint investigation with the IDF.