State Department Says US Not Asked to Assist in Abu Akleh Investigations
The United States has not been formally asked to assist in an investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, according to the US State Department. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority are conducting investigations into the shooting of Abu Akleh while she was reporting on an Israel Defense Forces arrest raid in Jenin on May 11.
Israel has offered to conduct a joint investigation into the killing with the Palestinian Authority, which has refused to participate in such a probe since it does not believe that Israel could fairly investigate the actions of its own soldiers. Israel has asked to see the bullet that killed the journalist in order to find out if it came from one of its soldier’s guns, but the PA also has refused the request.
“We have made clear to both Israeli and Palestinian authorities that we expect the investigations to be transparent and impartial – a full, thorough accounting into the circumstances of the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. We do expect full accountability for those responsible for her killing. Again, we are not going to prejudge that investigation. Both investigations are ongoing. We have conveyed to our partners that we do expect to be updated on the status of their investigations, but in the end, we want to see accountability,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said during his daily briefing for reporters on Wednesday. “We’re not going to impose a specific deadline, but these investigations need to be conducted, need to be concluded as rapidly as is possible.”
Price acknowledged that Israel has not formally requested that the US participate in or be an observer in its investigation.
An AP reconstruction of the killing determined that Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli soldiers. CNN reported on Tuesday that, according to its own investigation, Israeli troops killed Abu Akleh in a targeted attack.
