Bullet That Killed Abu Akleh Examined at US Embassy, Returned to PA

The bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and that was removed from her body when she was killed in May was examined at the US Embassy in Jerusalem on Sunday evening and then returned to Palestinian Authorities, Al Jazeera reported. Unnamed Israelis were present for the examination, according to the report. The Israel Defense Forces said that Israeli experts would lead the examination but the Palestinians say they only gave permission for American examiners to handle the bullet. Abu Akleh was an American citizen. Results of the examination are expected sometime on Monday, according to the report.

The Palestinian American journalist, 51, was killed while covering an Israeli army raid on the West Bank city of Jenin. The Palestinians accuse Israeli soldiers of targeting Abu Akleh. The Israeli military suggested that Abu Akleh was killed in the crossfire between its troops and Palestinian gunmen. The United Nations and several news outlets said that their investigations found that Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli soldier, though not necessarily on purpose. Israeli authorities later announced that they identified a gun that could have fired the shot that killed the journalist but that it would need to examine the bullet to make a definitive determination.