A photo taken on May 19, 2022 shows drawings at an art exhibit honoring the slain Palestinian Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. RONALDO SCHEMIDT AFP RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The Palestinian Authority said on Thursday it was continuing its investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in a deliberate murder. Israel denied the accusation and said it was continuing its own investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh, who died on May 11 while she was covering an Israeli military raid in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army had previously said that it might have been shot accidentally by one of its soldiers or by a Palestinian militant in an exchange of fire.
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Palestinian Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib told reporters that there had been no militants close to Abu Akleh when she died.
The only source of fire in the place came from the occupation forces with the intention of killing, according to Al-Khatib, who spoke to the Israel Defence Forces.
He said that Abu Akleh, who had a helmet and a press vest that clearly marked her as a journalist, had tried to escape with some fellow reporters as the first shots rang out. It is a war crime, Al-Khatib said.
Qatar's Al Jazeera TV Network said it would refer the killing to the International Criminal Court.
He wrote on Twitter that the IDF intentionally harms journalists and uninvolved civilians.
He called for the Palestinians to cooperate with Israel in the investigation and hand over the bullet for ballistic tests to see if it matches an Israeli military gun.
The Palestinians say they do not trust Israel and have refused to hold a joint investigation.
Al-Khatib said that the bullet that killed Abu Akleh was a 5.56 mm round fired from a Ruger Mini 14 semiautomatic rifle that is used by the Israeli military.
That same 5.56 calibre can also be fired from M-16 rifles carried by many Palestinian militants. Al-Khatib did not say how he was sure it had come from an Israeli rifle.
Israel has said the only way to know if it was fired by one of its soldiers was to examine the bullet and see if the markings on it match the barrel of an Israeli gun.
I continue to call on the PA to hand over the bullet and findings. Gantz said on Thursday that we are prepared and willing to conduct an investigation in collaboration with international actors.
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