US confirms ToI report that it’s urging Palestinians to share evidence from Abu Akleh probe with Israel

Also at today’s press briefing, State Department Spokesman Ned Price is asked about a separate Times of Israel report revealing that the Biden administration will not open its own investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Price does not deny the report either, reading over the readout the US issued after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Friday call with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid during which the former “urged the Israeli government to swiftly conclude their investigation into the killing.” Price says. “We expect full accountability for those responsible for her killing, and… We have urged that the sides share their evidence with each other to facilitate that investigation.”

Last week, a Biden administration official told The Times of Israel that while the US would not launch its own probe, it will continue advising the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on their own respective investigations into the May 11 incident. “We’re helping them review how they investigate,” the official said, declining to elaborate further on the matter.

The US hopes the PA will share its “evidence” with Israel, the administration official added when asked about the bullet.