An Al Jazeera journalist was killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on May 11. The Palestinian Authority refused to hand the bullet over to Israel, saying it could not trust the Israelis to conduct an impartial investigation.
“We will not hand over the bullet that killed Abu Uqla to the occupation, and we agreed that the Americans would conduct a forensic examination of the bullet,” Al-Khatib told reporters.
Al-Khatib told CNN that the bullet would be examined at the US Embassy in Jerusalem. He said the Palestinians had received “guarantees” from the United States that the bullet “will not reach Israel.”
The US embassy did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. The Israeli military said it had no public comment yet.
It is possible that the forensic investigation of the bullet will allow an official identification of who killed Abu Okla.
The Palestinian Authority says there were no militants in the area and it was deliberately targeted by an Israeli soldier.
Palestinians – along with journalists, human rights activists and other leaders – around the world continue to demand accountability for her murder.