Israel killed Shireen Abu Akleh, and the U.S. is finally investigating
Image by MD2Palestine
The family of beloved Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has fought for more than six months for justice, continually rebuffed as the Biden administration refused to hold Israel accountable for her assassination.
Finally, the U.S. has opened a long overdue investigation into Shireen’s murder. But it shouldn’t have taken six months to make the first step toward the family’s bare minimum demand.
“It’s been six long months of trying to grieve an irreplaceable loss, my aunt, my best friend, and my inspiration,” said Shireen’s niece Lareen Abu Akleh in a video on Friday. She closed with, “We continue to push, hold Israel accountable for this cruel war crime, so that no other Palestinian or journalist’s family have to endure the pain we have.”
Read and share the Abu Akleh family’s statement on the U.S. investigation.
We’ve known the truth since day one: the Israeli regime brutally shot and killed Shireen Abu Akleh in cold blood.
We’ve heard the eyewitness accounts of the journalists who were at the scene, and in the coming months we read investigation after investigation from major news outlets and human rights organizations all confirming this truth.
The Israeli regime is, of course, already refusing to cooperate with this investigation, but regardless of the outcome, we already know Israel killed Shireen.
What this investigation could reveal, if it’s conducted independently and thoroughly, are the details: who exactly was responsible and complicit in killing her, and what U.S. weapons, materials, or services were used. The recently introduced Justice for Shireen Act calls for a report on both.
The Israeli regime systematically targets and kills Palestinian journalists. It’s part of Israel’s policy to silence anyone who resists or exposes Israeli violence, including the many other Palestinian people Israel has killed since Shireen. All while the U.S. has been actively funding their murders by giving $3.8+ billion to the Israeli military every year.
We need real accountability, now—for Shireen and for every Palestinian person killed. Just this week, Israeli forces brutally shot and murdered 15-year-old Fulla Masalmeh in her car in Beitunia.
Accountability means ending the U.S. military funding fueling Israel’s massive violence. Resist, and keep resisting, until Palestine is free.
