UPDATE – No Israeli request to investigate journalist’s death: Palestine

UPDATES WITH CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – A Palestinian official on Wednesday denied reports about receiving an Israeli request to launch a joint investigation into the death of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Abu Akleh, 51, was shot dead while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin Wednesday morning. Another journalist, Ali Al-Samoudi, was shot in the back, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said earlier Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has refused to conduct a joint investigation into Abu Akleh’s death.

"We deny what the PM of the Israeli government announced that they were heading to the PA to conduct an investigation into her assassination," senior PA official Hussein Al-Sheikh said on Twitter.

“We affirm that the PA will take this file to the International Criminal Court,” he added.

- International investigation

Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called for forming an international committee to investigate the journalist’s killing.

In a statement, Shtayyeh called for "an international investigation in which the United Nations and various parties participate in the investigation of the crime of assassinating Abu Akleh."

Palestine is "ready to be part of a credible international commission of inquiry" and to provide "the necessary support for an independent commission of inquiry," he added.

The premier, who is currently in Brussels to participate in a donor meeting, said Palestine "has reservations about Israel being a part of it, and considers that it undermines the credibility of the investigation."

"The official authorities will follow up with the Journalists Syndicate and the relevant human rights organizations, in preparation for submitting it to the International Criminal Court and the competent national courts, leading to the prosecution, accountability and trial of war criminals," he added.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas earlier condemned Abu Akleh's killing, saying it was an “assassination" by Israeli forces and held Israel fully responsible for her death.

On Wednesday, the Doha-based Al Jazeera channel accused Israeli forces of deliberately assassinating its reporter “in cold blood.”

It termed the killing as a “heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty.”

Abu Akleh was born in Jerusalem in 1971 and earned a BA in journalism and media from Yarmouk University in Jordan. She also holds US citizenship.