Al Jazeera broadcaster killed in West Bank was shot from Israeli military positions, U.S. officials say
PBS NewsHourDec 29, 2022
The Facts
The US State Dept. announced on Mon. that the forensic analysis of the bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh was inconclusive, but it said that, based on the investigations done by the Israeli military and Palestinian Authority, Israeli forces likely killed the Palestinian journalist accidentally.
On Sat., Palestinian officials gave the bullet that allegedly killed Abu Akleh to US investigators amid pressure for investigations to be concluded before Pres. Biden's first visit to Israel and the West Bank.
The Spin
Pro-Palestine narrative
Rather than showing moral courage, the US is trying to compromise between Israel and Palestine to solve this quickly before Biden's visit. Abu Akleh's killing was clearly intentionally carried out by Israeli forces; countless outlets and research groups have concluded that she was killed by an Israeli sniper. She was clearly identified as a journalist, and there were several witnesses at the scene.
Pro-Israel narrative
Though the death of Abu Akleh is tragic, critics of Israel are always quick to jump to conclusions. This investigation was a good step in deducing who killed Abu Akleh, but, unfortunately, the results were inconclusive. Israel has been completely cooperative with the investigations into Abu Akleh's death, and if the IDF was responsible, it was not intentional.
