Senate Democrats Criticize Biden Administration’s Probe Of Palestinian Journalist’s Death

Topline

A group of Democratic senators criticized a U.S.-led review of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s death, arguing the probe—which didn’t definitively conclude who killed Abu Akleh but said it was likely an Israeli soldier—“hardly constitutes an independent investigation,” amid scrutiny of a shooting that amplified Israel-Palestine tensions.

Family and relatives attend the funeral of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh on May 13 in … [+] Jerusalem.

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Key Facts

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.) and Chris Murphy (Conn.) offered up their concerns about the U.S.-led investigation in a Tuesday open letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The senators argued the State Department’s investigation into Abu Akleh’s death may have been too limited in scope if it didn’t involve any steps beyond an inconclusive forensic analysis of the bullet that struck Abu Akleh, a visit to the West Bank site where she died and a review of Israeli and Palestinian reports on the incident.

The four lawmakers sent Blinken a litany of questions, including whether the U.S. reviewed video footage, interviewed witnesses, spoke with experts aside from the ones who looked at the bullet that killed Abu Akleh or examined any other bullets fired nearby.

In the weeks following Abu Akleh’s death, Murphy, Durbin, Van Hollen and Leahy were among the dozens of House and Senate lawmakers who publicly urged the Biden Administration to push for an independent investigation into the shooting, which Blinken promised to seek in early June.

Forbes has reached out to the State Department for comment.

Crucial Quote

“This does not meet any plausible definition of the ‘independent investigation that you and members of Congress have called for,” the senators told Blinken. “Nor does it provide the transparency that this case demands.”

What We Don’t Know

It’s unclear whether the State Department plans on releasing more information. The four senators asked Blinken to respond to their questions within two weeks.

Key Background

Abu Akleh—a U.S. citizen and well-known Al Jazeera journalist—was fatally shot in May while reporting on an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Jenin. Her death reignited tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority: The PA cast it as an intentional killing and declined to hand over the bullet to Israeli investigators, while Israel initially claimed Palestinian militants were responsible before later stating it hadn’t reached any conclusions. Last week, the State Department said its independent ballistics investigators weren’t able to conclusively determine who shot Abu Akleh because the bullet was too damaged, but said she was “likely” killed unintentionally by Israeli Defense Forces troops operating nearby. Meanwhile, news outlets like the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Associated Press published their own analyses that argued Israeli forces probably shot Abu Akleh.

Chief Critic

In a letter last week, members of Abu Akleh’s family said they felt a “sense of betrayal” over the Biden Administration’s investigation, arguing it “served to whitewash Shireen’s killing and perpetuate impunity,” according to Al Jazeera.

What To Watch For

President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia this week. Beyond the still-brewing tensions over Abu Akleh’s death and disagreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the trip comes amid political upheaval in Israel, which is headed to its fifth election in three years after its governing coalition collapsed.