It cannot be determined with full certainty whether Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces or Palestinian militants, an inconclusive autopsy of the body of the Al Jazeera journalist showed on Wednesday.
According to the Institute of Pathology at An Najah University in Nablus, the postmortem found no evidence that Abu Akleh was shot from short range.
4 View gallery
Slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh; Dr. Rayan Al-Ali of the Institute of Pathology at An Najah University
(Photo: Al Jazeera)
Dr. Rayan Al-Ali said that the bullet that led to Abu Akleh's death was being examined at a ballistics lab.
Abu Akleh's body was later transferred from Nablus to Ramallah and was brought in a procession through the city's streets to the Al Jazeera headquarters in the city.
An official funeral service will be held for Abu Akleh on Thursday at the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah in the presence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Her body will then be transported to St. Joseph Hospital in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Abu Akleh, a resident of Israel and a U.S. citizen, will be buried on Friday in East Jerusalem - where she lived.
Abu Akleh was killed in a firefight between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in the West Bank city of Jenin Wednesday morning as Jerusalem continues pursuing its counterterrorism operation in the territory in a bid to stymie constant Palestinian violence against Israelis.
Shortly after the shooting, Al Jazeera and the Palestinian Authority blamed Israel for the journalist's death, claiming that the IDF force fired the bullet that hit her. On the other hand, Israel stressed it was not possible to know who shot the journalist at the time and called for a joint investigation to clarify the circumstances of her death.
Incoming White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the U.S. government condemns the killing of the Al Jazeera reporter.
“We strongly condemn the killing of Al Jazeera journalist and American citizen Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin today and we extend our deepest condolences to her family,” Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One while en route to Chicago.
“We call for a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances of her death. Investigating attacks on independent media and prosecuting those responsible are of paramount importance,” Jean-Pierre added. “We will continue to promote media freedom and protect journalists’ ability to do their jobs without fear of violence, threats to their lives for safety or unjust detention.”
Meanwhile, rioters blocked roads and threw rocks at police during a protest in the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina after the killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin earlier Wednesday. Police arrested three suspects at the scene.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli police officers shot a Palestinian who shouted "Allahu akbar" and lunged at them in Jerusalem's Old City.
According to a police statement, there were no casualties in the incident besides the attacker, a man in his 20s who was seriously injured and taken to the capital's Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
The shooting is believed to have taken place after the man shouted and swung his hand as he stormed toward the officers, but later it became clear that he did not wield a knife in his hand.