The pressure continues to mount on the Biden administration to undertake an investigation of Israel’s killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American journalist, last month in occupied territories.
Yesterday, 24 senators (22 Democrats plus two independents) sent a letter to President Biden demanding that the State Department and the FBI conduct “a comprehensive, impartial, and open investigation” of Abu Akleh’s killing on May 11.
“It has now been over a month since American citizen and journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot to death while reporting on an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin,” the senators begin.
Since then, “there has been no significant progress toward the establishment of an independent, thorough, and transparent investigation into her killing.”
The letter is very strong and shows that nearly half of Senate Democrats are not buying Israel’s story– and they have been endorsed by the liberal Israel lobby.
The “only way” for there to be a “credible” investigation is for the U.S. to undertake it, the senators say. And the case has only grown “more urgent” since “new information” has emerged. The senators cite the many media investigations (including the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and AP) finding that an Israeli soldier killed the Al Jazeera broadcaster from about 600 feet away– and that there were no clashes with Palestinian gunmen, as Israel maintained. The senators emphasize that Abu Akleh and other reporters wore Press flak jackets and “stood in front” of the Israeli convoy so as to identify themselves to the army that morning.
And they quote a damning statement by Israel’s army spokesperson the day she was killed.
Ran Kochav stated that Ms. Abu Akleh and her film crew “were armed with cameras, if you’ll permit me to say so.”
The letter echoes the demand for a U.S. investigation that 57 Democratic Congresspeople made to Secretary of State Antony Blinken a month ago.
Good news, the Senate letter is being widely reported, not just in Haaretz. The Hill and Reuters have stories, and Politico says that there has been bipartisan pressure for an investigation, including from Sen. Mitt Romney.
So the shooting of Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 is not going away, and high level diplomats are going to have to try to paper it over before Biden’s visit to Israel next month. The State Department’s claims that Israel is seriously investigating are laughable, with reporters all but mocking the official endorsement of Israel’s procedures.
The liberal Israel lobby group J Street has endorsed the letter’s demand as “the only just and sensible solution – an independent US investigation into the death of its own citizen to ensure full accountability for those responsible.”
Biden “needs to take note of the multiple letters and other calls by dozens and dozens of lawmakers for a US investigation of Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing and get it done,” Dylan Williams of J Street writes.
Williams reports that AIPAC, the rightwing Israel lobby group, is lobbying against the letter, saying that the “circumstances” of her death remain “unclear,” despite the “hasty” media investigation.
That’s an absurd claim by a mouthpiece for the Israeli government. The many media investigations have all found, based on eyewitness, video evidence, and forensic ballistic analysis, that a series of automatic rifle shots came from an Israeli convoy.
Reuters quotes a claim by the the Israeli embassy: “Israel conducted a thorough inquiry and “‘continues to call for an investigation with the United States in an observer role.'”
This is also absurd on its face because in six weeks Israel has released no information from that supposed inquiry–no video, for instance.
The Senate letter was led by Maryland’s Chris Van Hollen and Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin. Other signatories are Sherrod Brown, Tom Carper, Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin, Martin Heinrich, Tim Kaine, Angus King (independent, Maine), Amy Klobuchar, Patrick Leahy, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy, Patty Murray, Jack Reed, Bernie Sanders (independent, Vermont), Brian Schatz, Jeanne Shaheen, Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Raphael Warnock, Ben Ray Luján and Sheldon Whitehouse.
Text of the letter is here. Here’s an image of it:
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https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-06-24/ty-article/un-rights-office-slain-al-jazeera-journalist-killed-by-israeli-troops/00000181-9533-db6b-afbf-f77714ae0000
UN Rights Office: “Al Jazeera Journalist Killed by Israeli Troops”
‘All information we have gathered is consistent with the finding that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli troops & not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians,’ a statement by the UN rights office reads as it urges Israel to open a criminal investigation into the killing”
Reuters. Haaretz. Jun 24, 2022 “Findings show that Israeli security forces fired the bullets that killed Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in May, & not indiscriminate firing from Palestinians, a spokesperson for the United Nations human rights office said on Friday.
“‘It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation,’ Ravina Shamdasani told a briefing in Geneva.
“‘All information we have gathered – including official information from the Israeli military & the Palestinian Attorney-General – is consistent with the finding that the shots that killed Abu Akleh & injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli Security Forces & not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities,’ a statement by Shamdasani read.
“In addition, the UN body has ‘found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists.’ According to the statement, the UN’s human rights chief Michelle Bachelet continues to urge Israel to open a criminal investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh.
“Israeli & Palestinians officials have exchanged recriminations over the incident, which has heightened tensions. Israel has denied that any Israeli soldier ‘targeted a journalist.’ (cont’d)
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“On Thursday, twenty four U.S. senators urged U.S. President Joe Biden to directly involve the United States in the investigation of Abu Akleh’s death. The letter from nearly half of the Democrats serving in the Senate marks the most significant push from U.S. lawmakers aimed at encouraging the Biden administration to probe the late Al Jazeera journalist’s killing, three weeks before the president is slated to visit Israel.
“Last Month, the Palestinian Authority presented the finding of its investigation into the killing, claiming the bullet that killed the journalist is a type used by the Israeli army. Israel offered the PA to carry a joint inquiry, later stressing the Palestinians’ unwillingness to cooperate.
“Parliamentary findings of an Israeli army probe could not determine whether Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli fire or Palestinian gunmen.
“Abu Akleh, who worked for Al Jazeera, was killed during an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp, during which, according to the army, Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire. Abu Akleh’s death was widely covered in the international media and sparked harsh criticism on Israeli actions in the West Bank.”
Good! Glad that these Senators and members of The House aren’t letting this get swept under the rug by Israel or the White House.
You would think that more than a measly quarter of the Senate would sign on to this letter though.
An American citizen and journalist was shot in the head and killed. Either accidentally by fire from militants (militants that the US official recognize as a terrorist organization), or intentionally by an allied military that receives billions of US dollars and weapons in annual aid. You’d think that getting to the bottom of either scenario would be an absolute priory of not just Congress, but the White House, and the Department of Justice too.
Sadly, we know EXACTLY why there is absolutely no effort being made by the White House or the other members of Congress. That’s because they already know who killed Shireen. Had they a shred of evidence or any legitimate indication that militant terrorists had killed her, they’d be all over this like Matt Gaetz at a junior high school on prom night.
No. They know with 100% certainty that she was intentionally killed by an Israeli sniper. And they really, really, really don’t want to discuss it or publicly explain why they STILL take money from pro-Israel groups, PACs, and other proxies and unregistered foreign agents of the Israeli government, or why they introduce and support anti-BDS legislation while they actively and directly enable, defend, finance, and arm the IDF that has killed between 45 and 55 journalists, injured hundreds more, and killed thousands and thousands of innocent men, women and children in recent years. The very same IDF that uses American money, weapons, artillery, missiles, drones, and warplanes to “mow the lawn” in Gaza, and bomb the living shit out of hospitals, schools, apartment blocks, and media buildings. Every single one of them a war crime. Every single one of them a violation of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
Now we’re talking.
This makes all the difference.
This is not going away.
“armed with cameras” – Ran Kochav
The camera is mightier than the sword. To all who know the facts it’s obvious why the Israelis want to keep the facts hidden, and why they would regard cameras as potent weapons.
“Silence is Zionism’s only defense”
https://mondoweiss.mystagingwebsite.com/2022/05/silence-is-zionisms-only-defense/