JERUSALEM — Israel’s departing Prime Minister Yair Lapid doubled down Tuesday on his government’s harsh condemnation of a reported investigation by the United States Department of Justice into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist, in the occupied West Bank.
A Justice Department spokesman had no comment. There were no details about when an investigation might begin and what it would involve, nor what the ramifications might be. But an FBI probe into the actions of an ally would mark a rare - if not unprecedented - step, threatening to strain close ties between the countries as Israel heads toward the most right-wing government in its history.