US says Al Jazeera journalist likely shot by Israel but not intentionally

The United States concluded Monday that Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was likely killed by Israeli gunfire and urged accountability, but said there was no reason to believe she was shot intentionally.

Dashing hopes for a result that would be accepted by all sides, the United States said it could not make a “definitive conclusion” on the origin of the bullet that killed the journalist on May 11.

Abu Akleh, who held US citizenship and was one of the best-known Palestinian journalists, was fatally shot as she covered an Israeli army operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank despite wearing a vest that said “Press.”

The US Security Coordinator (USSC), which directs security assistance to the Palestinian Authority in coordination with Israel, said that both sides granted full access to their own probes over the past several weeks.

“The USSC found no reason to believe that this was intentional but rather the result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation against factions of Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” it said.

– Family ‘incredulous’ –

“We will continue to advocate for justice for Shireen, and to hold the Israeli military and government accountable, no matter the attempts to obfuscate the reality of what happened on May 11,” it said.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid voiced sorrow over Abu Akleh’s “tragic” death and said that Israel’s probe determined “conclusively that there was no intention to harm her.”

– Israelis say still probing –

But an Israeli army statement said that Israeli experts examined the bullet at a laboratory in the Jewish state — while the State Department said the process involved “independent, third-party examiners.”

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday that it remained impossible to determine the source of the shooting “and, as such, the investigation will continue.”

Several media outlets have also pointed to Israel in the killing, with a CNN report saying she appeared to have been targeted by Israeli forces.

But the newspaper also did not ascertain whether the shooter targeted her personally.