Washington, D.C. – Journalists in the United States have again called for justice in the death by Israeli forces of Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, stressing the need for an independent investigation a year after her assassination.
More than two dozen journalists gathered for a moment of silence in honor of the veteran Al Jazeera correspondent in Washington, D.C., on the first anniversary of her murder on Thursday.
“Saying the shot came from the direction of the Israeli [military] or that there was no intent is not justice,” Eileen O’Reilly, president of the National Press Club (NPC), later said at a briefing, urging an impartial investigation into the incident.
“We don’t want to live in a world where a journalist like Shireen, who devoted her career to the public interest, is murdered without any accounting or explanation.”
Abu Akleh, who was fatally shot by Israeli forces during an Israeli assault on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on May 11, 2022, was posthumously awarded the NPC President’s Award last year.
Initially, Israel falsely suggested that Palestinian gunmen had killed the journalist, before eventually concluding that an Israeli soldier probably shot Abu Akleh, dismissing the incident as an accident.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has repeatedly praised Abu Akleh and condemned her assassination. But despite calls for accountability, Washington has not officially conducted its own investigation into the incident and has taken the Israeli position that the shooting was accidental.
US officials have said they are pushing for accountability for the killing of Abu Akleh by urging Israel to review its military rules to ensure that similar shootings do not occur in the future – a demand that has been openly rejected by Israeli officials. leaders.
When asked if pushing Israel on Rules of Engagement amounts to accountability, NPC Executive Director Bill McCarren said, “It’s not enough, but for there to be nothing — and that’s where we are right now — that’s unacceptable.”
Still, he added that addressing the military’s rules of engagement is important to protect journalists covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “We want more… We want full accounting; we need to know the truth,” McCarren told reporters Thursday.
Abderrahim Foukara, head of Al Jazeera’s Washington bureau, said it would be good if Israel was urged to change its Rules of Engagement if that happens, but added that the US position seemed to depend on “ambiguity”.
“Saying you will force the Israeli army to change its rules does not absolve you of the responsibility to seek justice for the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh or any other journalist,” Foukara said.
Today marks 1 year since US citizen and journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was shot and killed while reporting in the West Bank in her full uniform. Her family, other journalists and the US have not seen independent investigation and accountability. We must not rest until we have done that. pic.twitter.com/SwzvsTx2co
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) May 11, 2023
Washington has rejected attempts to hold accountable for the murder of Abu Akleh at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Israel, accused by human rights groups of imposing a system of apartheid on Palestinians, receives at least $3.8 billion annually in US security aid.
Press freedom organizations, as well as dozens of U.S. lawmakers, have been calling for the Biden administration to open its own investigation into the Abu Akleh assassination over the past year.
Last November, Israeli and American media reported that the FBI had launched an investigation into the incident. But US officials have declined to confirm or share information about the investigation.
On Thursday, Senator Chris Van Hollen reiterated the need for an “independent, official” investigation. “We must get the whole truth and we must insist on accountability,” Van Hollen said in a video message.
Citing the numerous media investigations that concluded that Abu Akleh had been killed by Israeli forces and that there was no fighting in the immediate vicinity of where she was shot, the senator said the probes show “inconsistencies” in Israel’s account of what happened.
“While I was pleased to learn that the FBI is investigating her death, we don’t know where that investigation stands,” said Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland.
In a TV interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday, Van Hollen pointed to open questions about the circumstances surrounding Abu Akleh’s death that could help with the search for accountability.
“What we can look at is the specific unit that was involved in the shooting of Shireen Abu Akleh and determine whether any US-supplied weapons were supplied or used,” he said.
The senator recently called on the State Department to release a new report on the incident from the US Security Coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
In Thursday’s video statement, he also stressed that the USSC assessment is not an independent investigation, but he nonetheless insists that the report be published in its entirety and “unedited.”
“A year after her death, journalists have a duty to continue to pursue the truth and the facts,” said Van Hollen. “Many people would like us to stop asking questions, but we cannot and will not allow the dead Shireen to be swept under the rug.”
Abu Akleh’s family also urged members of the US Congress, journalists and “people of conscience around the world” to join together to demand justice for the slain journalist.
“From the outset, we have called on the US government to act in the same way it would if another US citizen were killed abroad,” the family said in a statement.