JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense minister promised a thorough investigation of the killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh on Wednesday and asked that Palestinian officials hand over the bullet that killed her.
Benny Gantz told reporters that Israel has been in touch with US and Palestinian officials, and said all parts of the investigation would be made public.
While the military initially suggested Abu Akleh might have been killed by stray fire from Palestinians, while she was covering an Israel raid in the West Bank, Gantz was more cautious Wednesday evening. “We are trying to figure out exactly what happened….I don’t have final conclusions.”
“I am very sorry for what happened,” Gantz told reporters. “Currently we do not know what was the direct cause of Shireen’s death. We are very decisive to have a full-scale investigation of this process, and we hope to get Palestinian cooperation on this issue. Without the report of the pathological findings and the forensic findings, it would be very hard for us to find out what happened on the ground.”
“We investigated all the troops that were part of the operation,” he added. “So far, we don’t have any final conclusion.”
