US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised on Tuesday to pursue accountability for the murder of veteran Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh wherever the facts lead, amid heated disputes between the Israeli’s and the Palestinians over how she was killed.
Abu Akleh, a very well-known Palestinian-American veteran Al Jazeera journalist was shot and killed on May 11 while she was covering an Israeli army operation in the Jenin camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.
Blinken was confronted by a question on why there have been “absolutely no repercussions” for Israel, a historic US ally. The question was asked at a forum for student journalists on the sidelines of a Latin American Summit in Los Angeles.
“I’m sorry, with respect, they have not been established,” Blinken said of the facts behind the case.
“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,” he said.
Blinken who had the chance to speak to Shireen’s family said: “I deplore the loss of Shireen. She was a remarkable journalist, an American citizen.”
A Palestinian probe said that Shireen was shot and killed in a direct hit which amounts to hate crime. A CNN report, quoting witnesses, also said she appeared to have been killed in a targeted attack by Israeli forces.
Israeli authorities have countered that argument saying she could have been killed by a Palestinian gunman or mistakenly shot by an Israeli soldier. Dozens of lawmakers in Blinken’s Democratic Party have called for the FBI to lead an investigation into Abu Akleh’s death.
Source: Eyewitness News, Channel News Asia, News18, image from Twitter