The Palestinian Authority on Thursday said its investigation into the shooting death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh proves she was deliberately killed by Israeli forces.
Israel is likely to reject the findings as biased and unfounded.
The Palestinian attorney general, Akram Al Khateeb, announced the results of the investigation at a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"The only shooting was by the occupation forces, with the aim of killing," he said. Abu Akleh, a veteran Palestinian-American reporter for Al Jazeera's Arabic service, was shot in the head on May 11 during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank.
Witnesses and Palestinian officials have said Abu Akleh was hit by Israeli fire. Israel says she was shot during a fire fight between its soldiers and Palestinian militants, claiming only a ballistic analysis of the bullet - which is held by the Palestinian Authority - and the soldiers' guns, can determine who fired the fatal shot.
Al Khateeb said his investigation had determined there were no militants in the area and claimed the army saw Abu Akleh and other journalists and knew they were journalists. The group were all wearing protective vests and helmets at the time.
He claimed that Abu Akleh was shot "directly and deliberately" as she tried to escape.
He repeated the Palestinian position that the bullet will not be handed over to the Israelis for analysis. He said they decided not even to show images of the bullet "to deprive them of a new lie."
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said late on Thursday that the Palestinian Authority’s investigation claiming Israel is responsible for the death of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh is a crude and blatant lie.
"Any claim that the IDF intentionally targets journalists or those uninvolved with the aim of killing is a crude and blatant lie,” Gantz said.
Gantz also added that "despite many requests, the Palestinians refuse to cooperate and provide the bullet that killed Abu Akleh, which raises the question if they really want to reach the truth."