Slayed Palestinian-American Journalist’s Family Seeking Justice In DC

It’s been two months since the slay of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen abu Akleh. Akleh was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) at a refugee camp in the Palestinian city of Jenin in northern West Bank. 

Prior to her murder, brutal attacks against both Palestinians and Israelis tallied up to around 50 dead. Most of which were Palestinians. Following the killings, Israeli raids in Jenin became a routine, and the belief that the Palestinian attackers resided in the camp Shireen and other journalists were stationed to cover created another war zone in the area. All of the journalists wore vests labeled “PRESS” and could not have been missed easily. 

According to the US Department of State, the US Security Coordinator (USSC) “was granted full access to both Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian Authority (PA) investigations” during the time examinations were carried out. By the first week of June, the USSC concluded that the Israeli forces were responsible for the fatal shot that killed Abu Akleh, but found no probable reasoning to scrutinize or escalate the situation against Israel. The USSC claimed that the badly damaged bullet prevented them from reaching a definite conclusion on the case. 

The Palestinian authorities and population has called out the USSC’s partiality towards the crime because, an investigation executed by CNN found that “ there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death. Videos obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight eyewitnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapons expert, suggest that Abu Akleh was shot dead in a targeted attack by Israeli forces.” 

Shireen Abu Akleh was a correspondent for Al Jazeera and often covered the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, mainly criticizing the Israeli government’s aggression towards the Palestinian people. Owing to these facts, Akleh’s family and authorities are demanding justice, due to speculations that the IDF intentionally killed the journalist. A speculation that is not far-fetched, paying regards to events in the region in recent years. 

Lina Abu Akleh, Akleh’s niece and her family are seeking an independent US investigation. Shortly after the murder, Akleh’s family sought to meet with US President Joseph in June, during his visit to the West Bank. Mr. Bident failed to meet the request.

This week, Akleh’s family traveled to Washington DC, and met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. According to Lina Abu Akleh, Mr. Blinken promised to answer all of their questions and will be transparent with them regarding the investigation. 

In a statement written by the family on July 25th, they asserted that US authorities, “enabled Israel to avoid accountability for Shireen’s murder. This is totally unacceptable to us, and it is unacceptable to the countless members of Congress who have echoed our call for justice and accountability.”

“For far too long, the United States has enabled Israel to kill with impunity by providing weapons, immunity, and diplomatic cover. Impunity leads to repetition. We are here to do our part to ensure that this cycle end”

The family is demanding to meet with President Biden, but his recent Covid affliction might absolve him from satisfying Akleh’s family’s solicitation.