The tests will be conducted by Israeli researchers in the presence of US observers, Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Ran Kochav told Army Radio on Sunday. Akram al-Khatib, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) attorney general, told Voice of Palestine radio that the test would take place at the American embassy in Jerusalem, but that “we have received assurances from the American coordinator that the test will be conducted by and that the Israeli side will not take part.” The new dispute threatens to derail what on Saturday appeared to be a major step toward resolving the standoff between Israel and the Palestinians over an investigation into the death of the Al Jazeera journalist. The 51-year-old journalist, a well-known figure in the Arab world, was shot in the head in the West Bank city of Jenin in May during what her colleagues at the scene said was a burst of Israeli fire on a group of journalists covering an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) raid. ). Abu Aqleh was wearing a helmet and a protective vest marked “press”. Footage of Israeli police storming Abu Aqleh’s funeral procession in Jerusalem, prompting mourners to nearly throw over her coffin, sparked Palestinian and international outrage. Israel initially blamed the journalist’s death on Palestinian militants, but has since acknowledged that the IDF may have killed her “accidentally”. The military said it has located the rifle that may have been used, but that it cannot draw any conclusions until it is compared to the bullet. The Palestinian Authority previously rejected an Israeli proposal to hold a joint investigation under US supervision, saying it did not trust Israel and that its military had deliberately targeted Abu Aklech. Army records released under Israel’s Freedom of Information Act and analyzed by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, show that Israeli soldiers enjoy near-total impunity from prosecution in cases where Palestinians are harmed. The US embassy said it had “nothing new at this time” related to Sunday’s remarks by the IDF that Israeli experts would join the forensic investigation, contrary to what the PA says. The UN, EU and Palestinian Authority have all called for an independent investigation into Abu Aqleh’s death, and the Palestinians have referred the case to the international criminal court. The new chapter in the narrative war over the journalist’s killing came just over a week before Joe Biden’s expected visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank, posing a diplomatic and domestic test for Israel’s new prime minister, Yair Lapid. A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a diplomatic matter, told The Associated Press that the issue was raised in a recent phone call between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. and that both sides hoped to resolve the issue before Biden’s arrival on July 13. Abu Aqleh’s brother, Anton, said in a statement on Saturday night that the family was “not consulted or informed by any party, official or otherwise, that [a US-Palestinian investigation]Was it in the works or was it arranged,” calling the lack of transparency “disturbing.” “We have serious doubts that this process will lead to accountability. We will remain vigilant in our efforts to bring justice for Shireen, regardless of the obstacles, and we will monitor this process closely and with an extremely critical eye,” he said.
