On Thursday Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) says he will introduce legislation requiring an investigation into the death of Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli forces in May.
“We are urging our colleagues to see this as a free press issue,” said Carson. “To put aside Israeli and Palestinian politics and to see this for what it is: an attack on independent reporting. We’re going to keep circulating it to our dear colleagues until we get 218 original cosponsors for this bill.”
Earlier this month Carson, and ten other Democrats, introduced a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment that would have forced an investigation, but the measure was ultimately not adopted.
Carson said he is also working on a bill that would require relevant agencies to report on the deaths of all American journalists killed in the line of duty.
Carson’s remarks came during a press conference outside the US Capitol that was held by members of Shireen Abu Akleh’s family. The members were in Washington to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Democratic lawmakers who have urged the Biden administration to launch an independent investigation into the killing. The family reiterated their demands for such an investigation and criticized the Biden administration for its inaction. “President Biden still hasn’t agreed to meet us,” said Shireen’s brother Tony Abu Akleh. “We need him to hear from us directly, so that he understands the pain our family, and too many other Palestinians, have endured.”
Many of the congress members who have called for an investigation also shared remarks during the press conference. “An American journalist was killed abroad by a foreign army, by a sniper,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told the crowd. “This situation demands a thorough and objective investigation.”
“I want everybody to know, this is bigger than one person or one country. It’s about our values as Americans,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). “We cannot rest until this family has the justice they seek.”
Multiple lawmakers drew a direct link between Abu Akleh’s murder and the policies. “I knew 20 years ago when there was no justice for Rachel Corrie that the Israeli government would have impunity,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), referencing the young U.S. activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli soldier driving a bulldozer in 2003. In a statement read by Tlaib Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) said that there needs to be accountability for Israel’s crimes and demanded an end to Israeli apartheid.
Carson’s bill was not the only such legislative effort to be announced this week. On Thursday Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, announced that they would include text in the next State and Foreign Operations report requiring Secretary Blinken to submit detail on steps the administration has taken to facilitate an investigation into the killing.
These initiatives are just the latest in a growing congressional effort to push Biden toward an independent investigation. In June, twenty-four Senators sent the administration a letter requesting action and 57 Democratic House members made similar demands.
Multiple media outlets (including the Washington Post, AP and the New York Times) have carried out their own independent investigations and found that Abu Akleh was most likely killed by an IDF member. The Israeli government has announced that they will not be launching a criminal investigation into the matter.
The Biden administration has consistently voiced support for accountability over Abu Akleh’s death, but they haven’t wavered from their belief that Israel can carry out its own transparent investigation. “War criminals cannot investigate their own crimes,” said Shireen’s niece Lina Abu Akleh at the press conference.
Representative Andre Carson is absolutely right to demand a U.S. investigation into the murder of American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Israel claims to be a close friend and ally of the United States, but Zionists treat U.S. citizens who are critical of Israel—Shireen Abu Akleh and Rachel Corrie—as human waste, refuse to be mowed down, pulverized, and conveyed to a dung heap. Why does the U.S. allow Israelis to treat U.S. citizens in this manner? Why are there no consequences for murdering U.S. citizens in Israel? Is this the way a client is supposed to treat its patron? Do Americans not have backbones like Israelis? Why do Americans defer to Zionists? Have we become a wussy republic? This slaughter of innocent Americans in Israel must stop. We must demand a comprehensive criminal investigation. Israelis must be held accountable for their crimes. Israeli exceptionalism is an affront to the dignity of all Americans.
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Israel could be ‘blacklisted’ over killings of Palestinian children, says UN chief | Middle East Eye
“Israel could be ‘blacklisted’ over killings of Palestinian children, says UN chief” EXCERPT:
“New United Nations report finds Israeli forces killed 78 Palestinian children” & maimed another 982 last year””Israel should be added to a UN blacklist if its violence against Palestinian children is repeated this year, UN chief Antonio Guterres said on Monday.
“In its annual Children and Armed Conflict report, the UN said Israeli forces killed 78 Palestinian children, maimed another 982 & detained 637 in 2021.
“’I am shocked by the number of children killed & maimed by Israeli forces during hostilities, in air strikes on densely populated areas & through the use of live ammunition during law enforcement operations,’ the UN secretary-general said in the report.
“‘Should the situation repeat itself in 2022, without meaningful improvement, Israel should be listed,’ he added.
“So far this year, at least 15 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces, according to the Geneva-based Defence for Children International’s Palestine chapter (DCI-P).
“The annual report, which records grave violations against children in conflict areas around the world, has caused controversy at times over which parties are included in its ‘blacklist’ at the end of each report.
“The list is intended to exert pressure on states & armed groups around the world for violations against children verified by the UN. Israel has never been on the list.
“According to this year’s report, the UN recorded 2,934 grave violations against 1,208 Palestinian children and nine Israeli children in the occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel.
“All 17 children killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were fatally shot using live ammunition mainly during demonstrations, the report noted.
“In the besieged Gaza Strip, 69 Palestinian children were killed, the majority during Israel’s 11-day bombardment campaign. (cont’d)
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“Among the 637 Palestinian children detained in this period, 85 reported ill-treatment and breaches of due process by Israeli forces, with 75 percent reporting having experienced physical violence. The report also said Palestinian rockets fired Among the 637 Palestinian children detained in this period, 85 reported ill-treatment and breaches of due process by Israeli forces, with 75 percent reporting having experienced physical violence.
“The report also said Palestinian rockets fired by armed groups killed two Israeli children.
“Israel and the Palestinian territories witnessed the highest number of verified violations against children in 2021 according to the report, along with Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia.”