Shireen Abu Akleh: Photos obtained of killer bullet as US calls on Israel to publish internal probe

Photos of the bullet used to kill journalist Shireen Abu Akleh have been obtained by Al Jazeera, who after speaking with experts concluded that the ammunition was typically used by Israeli forces. 

The images show a 5.56mm calibre bullet that Israeli forces use, according to the pan-Arab news network Abu Akleh worked for before she was killed on 11 May while covering an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank.

The bullet is currently being held by Palestinian authorities, who say that they do not trust Israel to conduct an impartial investigation into the journalist's murder.

They have so far refused to hand over the ammunition.

"This M4 and this munition is used by the Israeli army. It is available and used by the units. I cannot say the whole unit, or most of the soldiers, but they use it," Fayez al-Dwairi, a former Jordanian major general, told Al Jazeera. 

An investigation by Al Jazeera has obtained an image of the bullet used to kill the network’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. pic.twitter.com/WXko1OAwwk

— V PALESTINE 🇵🇸 (@V_Palestine20) June 16, 2022

The Palestinian Authority (PA) already concluded in their probe that an Israeli soldier shot Abu Akleh, in what they described as a war crime.

Israel said it has identified a soldier’s rifle that might have killed Abu Akleh, but that it cannot make a final determination without the matching bullet. 

Israel also said that it is investigating police violence at Abu Akleh's funeral, in which officers charged towards participants and almost caused the pallbearers to drop the slain journalist's coffin. 

Israeli media reported on Thursday that the investigation had found that officers engaged in misconduct during the funeral, but those who oversaw the event will not face serious punishment.

Al Jazeera’s probe into the bullet that killed Abu Akleh, who held Palestinian and American citizenship, found that the round was designed and manufactured in the US. 

The veteran reporter was revered by Palestinians as a hero, and thousands attended her funeral in May to pay their respects and demand justice for her death.