Israel Boosting Team Investigating Death Of Journalist Abu Akleh

Israel is expanding its investigation into the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Ynet reports.

The military will deploy more intelligence officers and use satellite images in the investigation.

Abu Akleh, 51, was killed by a bullet to the head on May 11 while covering an Israeli counterterrorism raid in the West Bank city of Jenin. She was wearing a helmet and a vest marking her as press when she was shot during a gun battle between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) and Abu Akleh's employer Al Jazeera immediately blamed Israel for her death and subsequent investigations by foreign media outlets CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post concluded that Israel was responsible for her death.

A UN investigation also concluded that Israeli forces fired the fatal shot that killed the reporter.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continues to make it clear that a full forensic investigation cannot be carried out without the cooperation of the PA, who refuse to hand over the bullet that killed Abu Akleh.

The Israeli military will assign teams from its intelligence unit 9900 that specializes in mapping conflict zones for IDF operations and pinpointing enemy targets.

In addition to the officers specializing in mapping, other intelligence staff will join the investigation.