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North American churches condemn the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Churches for Middle East Peace calls on the U.S. government to ensure a fair and independent investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

“Freedom of the press must be protected,” Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) insists in a statement released following the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. In its statement, CMEP points to Israel’s misleading public announcements following Abu Akleh’s killing and the wounding of a second reporter, Ali Samoudi. 

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, CMEP’s executive director, said, “We are deeply grieved by this news and condemn the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. Our hearts go out to her family and loved ones. We call for an investigation and will advocate for accountability.”

Churches for Middle East Peace is a coalition of thirty national church bodies and organizations in Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Evangelical traditions.

Expressing its shock, CMEP’s statement continues, “This is not the first time Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian journalist.” The statement includes examples and cites the United Nations report that “more than 40 Palestinian Journalists have been killed by Israeli forces since 2000, with hundreds injured or targeted for violence.” 

“Freedom of the press must be protected, and the killing of journalists, especially when they are plainly distinguishable by their press vests, represents a clear violation of international law,” CMEP’s statement continues.

The coalition calls “on the United States to ensure a fair and independent investigation into Abu Akleh’s murder and to hold the responsible parties accountable.”   In formal resolutions and statements, church denominations in North America are increasingly using the word apartheid to describe Israel’s laws, policies and practices. The killing of Abu Akleh—followed by the Jerusalem Police Forces’ violent intrusion on her funeral procession—will likely improve chances for the passage of further resolutions coming before church bodies this summer.

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“An independent probe points to Israeli gunfire in the death of a journalist…”

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/16/1099078960/independent-probe-points-to-israeli-gunfire-in-death-of-journalist

Over the weekend, Bellingcat, a Dutch-based international consortium of researchers, published an analysis of video and audio evidence gathered on social media. The material came from both Palestinian and Israeli military sources, and the analysis looked at such factors as time stamps, the locations of the videos, shadows and a forensic audio analysis of gunshots….The group found that while gunmen and Israeli soldiers were both in the area, the evidence supported witness accounts that Israeli fire killed Abu Akleh…”Based on what we were able to review, the IDF (Israeli soldiers) were in the closest position and had the clearest line of sight to Abu Akleh,” said Giancarlo Fiorella, the lead researcher of the analysis.

How the US is trying to cover up Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing | The Electronic Intifada

By Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, May 13/22
VIDEO: The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh – EI’s Ali Abunimah on Al Jazeera English – YouTube

“How the US is trying to cover up Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing”
“On Thursday, I appeared on Al Jazeera English to talk about the killing of the network’s iconic correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh.“Despite its quickly debunked attempts to cast blame elsewhere, the evidence overwhelmingly points to Israel being responsible.
“Yet Israel does not bear responsibility alone. As I told Al Jazeera, the governments now shedding crocodile tears for Abu Akleh – especially the United States, European Union countries, the United Kingdom & Canada – also have her blood on their hands.
“While they are calling for an investigation, this is a ruse aimed ultimately at guaranteeing continued Israeli impunity. They know very well that Israeli attacks on the media are nothing new.
“A year ago, Israel directly attacked journalists & media organizations in Gaza. Those crimes are now barely even remembered.
“And in April, the International Criminal Court received a complaint alleging war crimes against journalists by Israeli occupation forces.
“It cites the ‘systematic targeting’ of four Palestinian media workers who were ‘killed or maimed by Israeli snipers while covering demonstrations in Gaza,’ according to the International Federation of Journalists.
“On Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price claimed that ‘the Israelis have the wherewithal & the capabilities to conduct a thorough, comprehensive investigation.’
“One only has to imagine the State Department asserting that Russia is capable of a ‘comprehensive investigation’ of alleged war crimes in Ukraine to understand how thoroughly uninterested the US is in any real accountability for Abu Akleh’s killing.
“The goal is to assuage public anger with empty calls for an investigation, until this latest atrocity fades from the news cycle.”

First, Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, CMEP’s executive director, said: […] We call for an investigation and will advocate for accountability.” Then CMEP’s statement continues, “This is not the first time Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian journalist.” So when was the investigation?