Abbas "refuses a joint investigation with the Israeli authorities" over the death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Headline: “The [PA] president during the funeral ceremony of Martyr Abu Akleh: We hold the occupation fully responsible for the crime”

“[PA] President Mahmoud Abbas held the occupation authorities fully responsible for the crime of killing journalist Shireen Abu Akleh (sic., there is no evidence Israel killed Abu Akleh, and ample reason to believe she was killed by indiscriminate gunfire by Palestinian terrorists).

In a short speech during the funeral ceremony of Martyr Abu Akleh at the [PA] presidential headquarters in Ramallah yesterday, Thursday [May 12, 2022], the president [Abbas] said: ‘We have refused and will refuse a joint investigation with the Israeli authorities, because they committed the crime and we do not believe them and will immediately go to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute the criminals.’”

Shireen Abu Akleh - 51-year-old Palestinian-American journalist for Al-Jazeera who was shot and killed while covering a gunbattle initiated by Palestinian terrorists who attacked Israeli forces during an operation in Jenin on May 11, 2022. The PA immediately accused Israel of shooting Abu Akleh without providing evidence. Israel rejected the accusation, noting Palestinian terrorists were filmed shooting indiscriminately and saying they had hit an Israeli soldier even though no soldiers were wounded, possibly indicating they had shot Abu Akleh. The PA rejected Israel's request to conduct a joint investigation of the incident, and its request to let it examine the bullet that killed Abu Akleh to determine whether it was fired by Israeli forces. The bullet is of a type used by both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian terrorists. In a press conference following Abu Akleh's autopsy on the day of her death, Head of An-Najah National University’s Forensic Medicine Department Dr. Rayyan Al-Ali said it could not yet be determined which side shot her.