During a Summit of the Americas event last night in Los Angeles, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was questioned by journalist Abby Martin about the killing of Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
“Secretary Blinken, what about Shireen Abu Akleh?,” asked Martin. “She was murdered by Israeli forces. CNN just agreed to this. These are our two greatest allies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Israel. They have murdered American journalists and there have been absolutely no repercussions . . . you’re sitting up here talking about the freedom of press and democracy. The United States is denying sovereignty to tens of millions of people around the world with draconian sanctions for electing leaders that you do not like. Why is there no accountability for Israel or Saudi Arabia for murdering journalists?”
“I deplore the loss of Shireen,” Blinken responded. “She was a remarkable journalist, an American citizen…We are looking for an independent, credible investigation. When that investigation happens, we will follow the facts, wherever they lead. It’s as straightforward as that.”
Blinken also said that the facts of the case “have not yet been established.”
Abu Akleh was killed on May 11 while reporting outside a refugee camp in Jenin. At first the Israeli government claimed she died amid dueling gunfire, but this was immediately disproven through witness testimony and video. Israel announced that it was launching a probe into her death, but the IDF has made it clear that there will not be a criminal investigation. Despite repeated calls from U.S. lawmakers for an independent investigation, the Biden administration has made it clear that they trust Israel to carry it out on their own. The Palestinian foreign ministry recently asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Abu Akleh’s killing, but the United States opposes ICC involvement.
“We believe that the ICC should maintain its focus on its core mission, and that core mission is to serve as a court of last resort in punishing and deterring atrocity crimes,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters two weeks ago.
The CNN investigation that Martin referenced was published on May 26. Relying on eyewitness accounts, video, and ballistic analysis the news organization concluded that “there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death” and that the evidence “suggests that Abu Akleh was shot dead in a targeted attack by Israeli forces.” That same week the AP carried out a reconstruction of Abu Akleh’s killing. They reported that their findings lend “support to assertions from both Palestinian authorities and Abu Akleh’s colleagues that the bullet that cut her down came from an Israeli gun.”
This isn’t the first time that Blinken has faced public protest over Abu Akleh’s murder in recent weeks. During a commencement ceremony at Georgetown University that he attended on May 21, multiple students displayed pictures of the late Palestinian-American journalist and raised the Palestinian flag. Palestinian-American graduate Nooran Alhamdan refused to shake his hand while walking across the stage.
Let’s not forget that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is a dedicated Zionist!!
It’s no exaggeration to say Israel has lied its entire existence, about everything. Almost as a matter of pride. Which of course it is. The question for Blinken is why the state department, or anyone else, for that matter, would take anything Israel says seriously. And why they are allowed to.
How do the Jen Psakis and Ned Prices live w themselves? Sociopaths of a kind, nothing less.
So here’s the bad news for human rights and justice. The fox will now guard the hen house.
Israel ambassador elected as vice-president of UN General Assembly
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has been elected to the position of the UN General Assembly’s vice-president, in a move which is set to grant Tel Aviv more sway over the institution.
As one of 21 vice-presidents in the UNGA, Erdan will begin his year-long role in September, when the Assembly gathers for its annual session, enabling him to chair meetings and be involved in the setting of those meetings’ agendas.
Erdan’s appointment to the position is predicted to grant Israel more influence within the UN as a whole, with Erdan calling it a valuable platform in the face of “ongoing lies of the Palestinians and others at the UN.”
He stated that “This triumph sends a clear message to our enemies that they will not prevent us from participating in leading roles at the UN and in the international arena. Hatred must never triumph over the truth. I won’t allow it.”
They make enemies and whine about it. Hatred is marching through Arab neighborhoods chanting racist slogans and calling for the death of Arabs. Does this man think that is showing love?
Perhaps Mr. Blinken didn’t recognize independent journalist Abby Martin. You can see her documentaries “Gaza Fights For Freedom”, “Abby Vs Israel: BDS Lawsuit Update”, and others at
“The Empire Files”
http://theempirefiles.tv/
Unfortunately for Blinken, as Ms. Martin said, CNN did do its own “independent, credible” investigation, one that was corroborated by numerous other outlets and groups (including the Washington Post), who have independently come to the same conclusion. That an Israeli sniper deliberately shot and killed Shireen and wounded her colleagues. As far as Blinken and the White House is concern, there isn’t an “independent and credible” institution on Earth that is worthy to investigate this issue, not even the ICC or the FBI, because the US knows, and Israel knows, these investigative bodies know, and everyone with half a brain knows EXACTLY what happened, why it happened, and that NOTHING will be done about it to stop it ever happening again.