The United States has been accused of burying its findings on the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh, and is facing criticism for issuing statements that appeared to absolve Israel of all responsibility over the killing.
The State Department announced earlier this week that gunfire from Israeli positions “was likely responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh” but dismissed the incident as the unintentional “result of tragic circumstances”.
In response, Abu Akleh’s family released a scathing rebuke, describing Washington’s assessment as “frankly insulting to Shireen’s memory”.
Since the State Department’s announcement, Palestinian activists have taken issue with the vague and inconsequential statement and criticised the decision to make it public on 4 July – US Independence Day – a major national holiday when many people are spending time with their families and not focusing on the news.
Diana Buttu, a Palestinian human rights lawyer and former legal advisor to the negotiating team of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, told Middle East Eye that the statement was carefully crafted to avoid any tensions ahead of US President Joe Biden’s scheduled visit to ‘Israel’ next week.
Last month, the administration reportedly asked ‘Israel’ to halt home demolitions, evictions of Palestinians and any decisions on settlement building “until after Biden’s visit”, saying they want “quiet and calm” for Biden’s visit.
Buttu said that given ‘Israel’s’ advanced military capabilities and sophisticated technologies, she has doubts the Nazi regime does not know the identity of the killer.
In 2018, the the Nazi forces posted a now-deleted tweet in which they said, “We know where every bullet has landed” after 773 Palestinians in Gaza were shot with live ammunition from Israeli forces during mass demonstrations.
“They have the system of being able to know where their soldiers are and who’s doing the firing. They know the person who shot Shireen. For sure they do. This isn’t a question in the dark,” Buttu said.
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✍: Umar A Farooq, Zainab Iqbal, Azad Essa/MEE
