Abu Rudeineh: US report on murder of Abu Akleh absolves "Israel"
The spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency says the US report on the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh is biased and seeks to absolve the Israeli occupation of the crime.
The spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, told Al Mayadeen that the recent US report on the murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is an attempt to absolve the occupation of the crime of killing the journalist.
Abu Rudeineh pointed out the Israeli occupation has not recognized any crime against the Palestinian people, and Washington is biased toward "Israel" in the investigation of the martyrdom of Abu Akleh and is seeking to acquit it.
The Palestinian official noted that the bullet that is mentioned in the US investigation is the incorrect one, stressing that the Palestinian report on the martyrdom of Abu Akleh is the only one that the Palestinian presidency recognizes.
The spokesperson affirmed that Palestine has the right to take the file of the martyrdom of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to all international forums, vowing not to allow "Israel", the US, or some countries in the region to manipulate the Palestinian cause, as the choice of the Palestinians will always be steadfastness to preserve the cause and preserve Al-Quds.
Earlier, the Palestinian presidency said that the Israeli occupation's government was trying to abandon its responsibility for the murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, calling on the US administration to preserve its credibility in regard to its participation in the investigation.
The presidency indicated that the Palestinian administration will follow up the case of the assassination of Abu Akleh in international courts, especially before the International Criminal Court, stressing that it will not accept the manipulation of the outcome of the Palestinian investigation.
It is noteworthy that on Monday, the US Department of State claimed that Washington could not make a "definitive conclusion" on where the bullet that killed Abu Akleh came from.
"Ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion," said Ned Price, the Department Spokesperson, after what he described as an "extremely detailed forensic analysis."
The Department also indicated that Abu Akleh was likely killed by gunfire from Israeli positions, but said that there was no reason for the US to believe that her murder was intentional.
US concludes that the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was carried out by Israeli force but “the result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation which followed a series of terrorist attacks in Israel.”
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) July 4, 2022
Justification for murder of their own citizen pic.twitter.com/NOUO2xhV7d
The US statement received wide condemnations from various Palestinian factions, who unanimously rejected the report, considering it an attempt to obscure the truth, legitimize the murder of Palestinian journalists, and justify Israeli crimes.
Abu Akleh, famed Al Jazeera journalist and veteran reporter, was murdered on May 11 when Israeli occupation forces storming the Jenin refugee camp, north of the West Bank, shot her with a live bullet to the head as she was covering the events of the storming.