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JERUSALEM — Neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority has formally requested U.S. assistance in investigating the killing of a Palestinian-American reporter during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank, the State Department said on Wednesday.
An AP reconstruction of the May 11 killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh supports Palestinian witnesses who say she was shot dead by Israeli soldiers. But Israel and the PA each have sole possession of potentially crucial evidence needed to reach a definitive conclusion.
Israel says Abu Akleh was killed during a complicated shootout between soldiers and Palestinian militants, and only a ballistics analysis of the bullet — which the PA possesses — and the soldiers’ weapons could determine whether one of them fired the fatal shot have.
The involvement of a third party could overcome the strong distrust between the sides and allow for a full and impartial account of what is happening. But there’s no sign either is ready to relinquish control of their own investigations.
Israel has publicly called for a joint investigation with the PA, with US involvement.
But this week, State Department spokesman Ned Price said he was aware of “no requests for assistance” from either side. When asked during a press conference on Wednesday – two weeks after Abu Akleh’s death – whether the US had been asked to participate or to have an observer role, he stuck to his previous answer.
“We have made it clear to both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities that we expect the investigation to be transparent and impartial, a full and thorough account of the circumstances of Shireen Abu Akleh’s assassination,” Price said.
Any American involvement would require a request from both Israel and the PA, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat said, “Israeli officials have publicly invited the United States to participate in the investigation.” He added that “similar messages have been shared through official channels,” but declined to elaborate .
The Palestinian Authority says it is conducting its own investigation and will share the findings with international parties. It has refused to hand over the bullet or cooperate in any way with Israel, saying it does not trust Israel to investigate itself.
Within hours of her death, both the PA and Qatar-based Al Jazeera accused Israel of deliberately killing Abu Akleh, but offered no concrete evidence to support the claim, which Israel staunchly denies.
Ballistics analysis could potentially match the bullet to a specific firearm, but only if investigators have access to both. Israel and the Palestinians are unlikely to accept each other’s conclusions.
Abu Akleh had spent more than 25 years covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She was a well-known and respected correspondent for Al Jazeera’s Arabic service, where she covered Israel’s nearly 55-year military occupation of the West Bank. She is now seen by the Palestinians as a martyr of both journalism and their national struggle.
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.