Bullet that killed journalist Abu Akleh handed to US: Palestinian Authority

The Palestinian Authority has handed the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to US forensic experts, its attorney general has said.

The Palestinian Authority was assured that no modifications would be made to the bullet and that it would be returned as soon as the assessment was complete, a Palestinian official said on Saturday.

"We agreed to transfer the bullet to the Americans for examination," Akram al Khatib, General Prosecutor for the Palestinian Authority, said.

On May 11, Abu Akleh, 51, was covering an Israeli military raid near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank when she was shot dead. Palestinian officials and her employer, Al Jazeera, said she was killed by Israeli forces.

Israel has denied the accusation and says it is continuing its own investigation.

The shots that killed Abu Akleh were fired from the Israeli side, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

But the Israeli army accused the UN probe of being biased, citing Palestinians' rejection to hand over to it the bullet that killed Abu Akleh.

The Israeli army insisted on the narrative of an exchange of with Palestinians — which it claimed had killed Abu Akleh.

READ MORE: UN: Findings suggest Israeli bullets killed Al Jazeera journalist

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