Without the signatory markings and the DNA, it’s impossible to know “if this was the bullet that hit the journalist,” FADC chair Ben Barak said.
The wrong bullet may have been tested during the examination that was overseen by the United States this weekend in an effort to determine culpability in the shooting death of American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, speculated the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Chairman Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid) on Tuesday.
“The claim that it can’t be determined from the bullet who from which weapon it was shot and who it hit, could indicate that it’s the wrong bullet,” Ben Barak said in an interview with Army Radio.
He added that he had not seen a copy of the investigatory report and was working off of the public statements that had been released.
Ben Barak spoke on the day after the United States and the IDF in two separate statements explaining that the bullet was too damaged to conduct the tests necessary that would link its signature margins with the rifle that fired it.
Those marking are the most scientific method by which to determine the identity of the rifle used to shoot Abu Akleh, who was killed while covering a gun battle between the IDF and armed Palestinians in Jenin on the morning of May 11th.
Inconclusive findings
Without the signatory markings and the DNA, it’s impossible to know “if this was the bullet that hit the journalist,” Ben Barak said.
The Palestinian Authority disputed the American and Israeli conclusions. It insisted that the bullet was not damaged and that its investigation had already shown that the IDF had deliberately fired on Abu Akleh.
The IDF and US investigations said that no conclusive results could be determined. The US, however, said it appeared that Abu Akleh, a veteran Al Jazeera journalist, was accidentally shot from the area of an IDF position in Jenin. The IDF said its soldiers at that time were shooting at Palestinian gunmen located near Abu Akleh.
Eyewitness or video testimony that had been made public has not confirmed the presence of Palestinian gunmen at Abu Akleh’s location.
A diplomatic source has said that one may never know who was responsible for her death.
Abu Akleh’s family has asked the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to ensure that justice is done. It has also questioned the absence of an FBI investigation into her death.