Shireen Abu Akleh’s family welcomes US investigation
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Roshan Amiri
- . November 15, 2022
- . Update: November 16, 2022 12:43 am
The announcement by the United States that it will look into the may murder of the Palestinian American Al Jazeera correspondent “encourages” Shireen Abu Akleh’s family.
The family claimed in a statement made public on Tuesday that Abu Akleh’s citizenship and the fact that she was killed “by a foreign military” made the US decision, which was first reported on Monday, imperative.
Abu Akleh, 51, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers while covering an Israeli operation in Jenin, a town in the northern occupied West Bank.
Despite initial Israeli claims that Abu Akleh may have been shot in crossfire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters, video footage, numerous witnesses, and numerous investigations by independent media outlets revealed there were no armed Palestinians in the area where Abu Akleh and other journalists were standing before Israeli soldiers started shooting at them.
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In September, Israel finally acknowledged that one of its soldiers had probably killed Abu Akleh, but it refused to launch a criminal probe.
The US initially opposed attempts to launch an investigation into the death of Abu Akleh, claiming Israel could handle its own investigation.
According to a Monday report by Axios, however, the US Department of Justice has now told its equivalent in Israel that the FBI has launched an investigation into the incident.
Uncertainty surrounds the investigation’s specifics, and calls requesting comments went unanswered by a justice department official. In response, the Israeli government criticised the US and insisted that it would not participate with the probe.
Benny Gantz, Israel’s departing defence minister, criticised the US Justice Department’s decision to open an investigation into the tragic death of Shireen Abu Akleh.
Israel will soon have a new government, after former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was granted the go-ahead to create one after his coalition won the November 1 elections.
