The now-released US State Department report on the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh makes the absurd claim that the evidence is ‘inconclusive’ regarding who killed Shireen.
But the United Nations had previously investigated and found conclusively that Israeli bullets shot Shireen in the head.
There were no Palestinian fighters in the area, and numerous eyewitnesses saw the Israeli soldier assassinate Shireen.
The idea that there could be any doubt at this point about who shot Shireen is absurd and shows the extent to which the US regime is willing to lie to protect its ally, Israel, blatantly.
The US State Department spokesperson said that gunfire from the Israeli military was “likely responsible” for the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May.
But the official State Department statement says their investigation “could not reach a definitive conclusion” on the bullet’s origin because the bullet was so badly damaged.
But even the fact that the bullet was an ‘exploding’ type bullet that opened the back of Shireen’s head is unmistakable evidence because only Israeli soldiers have access to exploding bullets.
According to the State Department, “In addition to the forensic and ballistic analysis, the [US investigator] was granted full access to both Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian Authority investigations over the last several weeks. By summarizing both investigations, the [investigator] concluded that gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh.”
The Abu Akleh family quickly issued a statement condemning the US State Department’s refusal to acknowledge Shireen’s clear and blatant assassination. They vowed that this would not be the end, and they will take this matter to the International Criminal Court.
If the US government had honestly investigated, they would have found what the UN investigation found: clear evidence that US weapons and funding were behind the assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh.
If the US had found that a US-funded weapon was used with blatant impunity to kill Abu Akleh, the US would be in direct violation of the Arms Export Control Act, which forbids US weapons sold (or donated, as in this case) abroad to be used in a war crime.
Responding to the U.S statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates issued the following release:
