TEHRAN – In an extremely outrageous statement that could serve as a whitewash of a horrific crime, the US State Department claimed that the bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh was “probably” fired by an Israeli firearm, but ” found no evidence that it was intentional”. .”

May 11 is an unforgettable date for the world, as it embarks on yet another Israeli crime against members of the press.

Abu Akleh, a veteran Palestinian-American journalist in the occupied West Bank, was shot in the ear by an Israeli sniper on May 11 while wearing a vest marked “press” and a helmet.

However, in an effort to refute the truth, the Israeli army announced that it had offered the Palestinian Authority to conduct a joint investigation into how the Al Jazeera correspondent was shot dead.

Israeli army spokesman Ran Kochav said Tel Aviv had offered the Palestinians to jointly investigate the details of the assassination in the Jenin camp on the morning of May 11.

Kochav claimed that, contrary to what Arab media reported, early estimates indicated that the journalist was shot dead by Palestinian gunmen in the Jenin camp.

The US Embassy in Quds on May 11 called for a full investigation into the murder.

However, on May 20, in a statement, the Israeli army claims that Abu Akleh was killed in an “active combat situation”, it will not launch a criminal investigation despite requests from the international community.

According to reports, the head of an Israeli brigade, Meni Liberty, identified six occasions during the regime’s military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied territories when Israeli soldiers opened fire near Abu Akleh and other journalists.

Today, the global community is more enraged than ever.

“After extremely detailed forensic analysis, independent third-party reviewers, through a process overseen by the United States Security Coordinator (USSC), were unable to reach a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Ballistics experts determined that the bullet was severely damaged, preventing a clear conclusion,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price. .

“In addition to forensic and ballistics analysis, the USSC has gained full access to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian Authority (PA) investigations over the past few weeks. Summarizing the two investigations, the USSC concluded that firing from IDF positions was likely responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. The USSC found no reason to believe this was intentional but rather the result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation against Palestinian Islamic Jihad factions on May 11, 2022 in Jenin, which followed a series terrorist attacks in Israel,” the statement continued.

“The United States appreciates and continues to encourage cooperation between Israel and the PA in this important matter. We will remain engaged with Israel and the PA on next steps and urge accountability. We once again extend our deepest condolences to the Abu Akleh family,” he concluded.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry refuted the US State Department’s claim, stating: “The State of Palestine rejects the United States’ rejection of the intentional targeting and killing of Shireen Abu Akleh by the occupying forces. Israelis, as mere “tragic circumstances” and not an intentional war crime.

In its statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry added, “No wave or politicization can exonerate the killers, whitewash the crime or hide the truth. This will only further institutionalize Israel’s impunity, continue to deprive the Palestinian people of justice and threaten the safety and lives of journalists.

He also said that the Palestinian Foreign Ministry would take the case to the International Criminal Court to hold the Israeli regime accountable.

“In pursuit of justice for Shireen and all Palestinian victims, we will continue undeterred our efforts at the international level, including the International Criminal Court,” the statement concluded.

Ironically, lobbyists for Israel’s killer press regime have found out who killed Abu Akleh. It’s Iran, folks!

“Let’s be clear: the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad is responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. Terrorists murdered 19 Israeli civilians and committed war crimes using Palestinian civilians as human shields,” tweeted Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), which claims to be “a nonpartisan institution focused on national security and foreign policy. Politics.”

Western media applauded the outcome of the US State Department’s investigation. It looked like they had their headlines ready already. “Bullet Too Badly Damaged to Prove Who Killed Palestinian American Journalist, US Says”. Do not be surprised. This is how the New York Times salutes this “impartial” investigation.

On June 25, the United Nations said its investigation found that the bullets that killed Abu Akleh were fired by Israeli regime forces and were “well-aimed bullets.”

Previously, similar investigations by The Associated Press, CNN, Washington Post and Al Jazeera, for whom Abu Akleh spent 25 years reporting from the occupied territories, found similar results, but the regime continues to deny responsibility for the murder.

“We find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli forces,” UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva on June 25. “It is deeply disturbing that the Israeli authorities have failed to conduct a criminal investigation.”

She continued: “We at the UN human rights office have concluded our independent monitoring of the incident. The shots that killed Abu Akleh…came from Israeli forces and not from indiscriminate shooting by armed Palestinians, as the Israeli authorities initially claimed.

In one of her accounts, Abu Akleh herself once said: “The investigation may not achieve the desired results, but raising our voice again and again, continuing to pursue Israel in international forums will lead to a day when the executioner will not be able to sleep after pulling the trigger to kill a Palestinian”.