Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was a veteran Palestinian-American reporter who covered the conflict in the Middle East for more than 25 years. He was fatally shot, despite being clearly identified as a member of the press, while covering an Israeli military raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Her colleagues who were with her at the time, and other Palestinian eyewitnesses, say she was killed by Israeli Defense Forces fire. The Israeli military said it was caught in the crossfire of a battle with Palestinian gunmen and demanded the bullet be handed over and analyzed as evidence. The Palestinians said they would not hand over the bullet out of mistrust. The Israeli prime minister’s office released a video suggesting a Palestinian may have been responsible – but an analysis by the Sky News Data and Forensics team shows the shot in the video could not reasonably have hit Ms Abu Akleh. Israeli police then sparked international outrage when videos showed them firing tear gas and trying to arrest mourners at the journalist’s funeral in Jerusalem. Some officers were filmed kicking the passengers’ legs, causing the casket to slide and almost fall to the ground. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:36 Violence at a journalist’s funeral The Palestinian attorney general, Akram al Khatib, said the bullet was given to US experts “for technical work” and said the Palestinians welcomed the involvement of international bodies to “help us confirm the truth”. “We are confident and confident in our investigations and the results we have come up with,” he said. However, The Associated Press said it was not immediately clear what an analysis of the bullet without the rifle might produce. US President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the region in just over a week.
