The Takeaway: Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing looms over Biden trip to Israel, West Bank
A hedging US response to the Palestinian-American journalist's killing reinforces beliefs about favoritism for those living in the West Bank and Gaza.
Our take: Accusations that the US has “whitewashed” Israel’s role in the journalist's killing could overshadow Biden’s West Bank visit.
On Monday, the State Department said that Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh “likely” died by Israeli gunfire while she was covering an early morning raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on May 11.
After reviewing evidence provided by the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian Authority, the US “cannot say conclusively with 100% certainty exactly what happened,” department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday.
Price said the recovered bullet was too badly damaged to reach a definite conclusion about the source of the gunfire, but American investigators “found no reason to believe that it was an intentional killing.”
