JERUSALEM — The bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist shot in the occupied West Bank in May, was most likely fired from Israeli military lines but was too damaged to say for sure, the foreign ministry said Business Monday.
The damage to the bullet made it difficult to draw a definitive conclusion about the gun it was fired from, according to a statement from the State Department. But shots fired from the Israel Defense Forces position were “probably responsible for the deaths,” it added.
US officials “found no reason to believe this was intentional, but rather the result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation,” the statement said.
Palestinian officials have said that Ms. Abu Akleh was deliberately killed by an Israeli soldier.
The Israeli government had questioned that by saying that she had been hit by an Israeli soldier or a Palestinian gunman. Israeli officers have said that an Israeli soldier from elite Duvdevan unit fired at Ms. Abu Akleh, but it was impossible to determine who shot her without examining the bullet.
A months-long investigation by DailyExpertNews found that the bullet that killed Mrs. Abu Akleh had been fired from the estimated location of an Israeli military convoy early in the morning, most likely by an elite unit soldier, confirming eyewitness accounts at the scene.
Forensic experts can match a bullet to the rifle it was fired with, based on microscopic marks left on the surface of the bullet as it exits the gun barrel. But photos showed the bullet had partially crushed and the autopsy performed by the Palestinian Authority concluded that the bullet entered Ms Abu Akleh’s head and later hit the side of her helmet.
The US conclusions followed a weeks-long standoff in which the Palestinians refused to give the bullet to Israeli investigators, and the Israeli military refused to give the Palestinians the gun.
The Biden administration was drawn to a mediation role after Israel said it could not determine whether its soldier fired the fatal shot without receiving the bullet. But the Palestinian leadership said it did not trust Israeli investigators enough to hand the bullet.
The need for a resolution became more urgent in recent days as it threatened to overshadow discussions during President Biden’s visit to Israel and the West Bank next week — his first to the region as head of state.
Ms. Abu Akleh, a veteran TV reporter for Al Jazeera and a household name in the Middle East, was killed on May 11 while reporting an early morning Israeli army attack on the West Bank city of Jenin .
Her assassination sparked international outrage and sparked pressure on President Biden from US lawmakers demanding greater US involvement in the investigation into the death of a US citizen.
For the Palestinians, the death of Mrs. Abu Akleh epitomizes the dangers and frustrations of living under Israeli military occupation. Palestinian deaths rarely receive international attention, and soldiers accused of crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank are rarely convicted.
But Israel said she may have been killed by Palestinians who fired indiscriminately during clashes with Israeli soldiers, and denied that its soldiers intentionally harmed a journalist.
She was killed amid a spate of Palestinian attacks that killed 19 Israelis and foreigners. Some of the attackers were from the Jenin region, and in response, the Israeli military launched several raids on the area, often answering its soldiers with Palestinian gunfire.
