Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media platform: The Degel HaTorah party, which has four members in the Knesset, announces its withdrawal from Netanyahu's cabinet.
Local Syrian sources: The raids targeted the road between the village of Al-Mazra'a and the city of Sweida, where forces and factions affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense are advancing.
Local Syrian sources: New raids carried out by Israeli warplanes targeted vehicles and gatherings of military factions affiliated with the new Syrian Ministry of Defense.
Local Syrian sources: Israeli raids target, for the third time, gatherings of Syrian Defense Forces military factions in the southern countryside of Sweida.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza Strip hospitals received 120 martyrs and 557 wounded in the past 24 hours.
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis

Senate Democrats want US to be involved in Abu Akleh probe

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 24 Jun 2022 12:21
5 Min Read

Around half of the Democrat Senators want the Biden administration to have a hand in the investigation into Shireen Abu Akleh's murder, while Israeli lobbyist groups are scrambling to avoid the intervention.

  • x
  • Palestinian schoolgirls approach a drawing at an art exhibit honoring murdered Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on 19 May 2022 (AFP)
    Palestinian schoolgirls approach a drawing at an art exhibit honoring murdered Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on 19 May 2022 (AFP)

Around half of the Democrat Senators in the US Congress are calling for Washington to be directly involved in the investigation into last month's murder of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank.

"We believe that, as a leader in the effort to protect the freedom of the press and the safety of journalists, and given the fact that Ms. Abu Akleh was an American citizen, the US government has an obligation to ensure that a comprehensive, impartial, and open investigation into her shooting death is conducted - one in which all parties can have full confidence in the ultimate findings," the letter to US President Joe Biden read.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), even before reports regarding the letter emerged, started lobbying to block it using claims such as bias against the Israeli occupation. The lobbying group claimed that the circumstances of Abu Akleh's murder remained unclear while alleging that the senators' letter "implies both Israeli culpability and inability to conduct an objective, thorough investigation" of the murder.

Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen was the first to push for the US to take part in the probe, and his bid garnered the signatures of 22 other party members, as well as independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, making for 24 out of the Senate's 50 Democrats.

The letter comes as the Israeli occupation is adhering to deniability regarding Abu Akleh's murder and accusing the Palestinian Authorities of hindering the investigation. However, "Tel Aviv" is also taking on the same stance, refusing to hand over the suspected weapon Ramallah says was used to kill the journalist.

The US lawmakers have voiced skepticism toward the Israeli version of events, especially in light of one of Abu Akleh's colleagues saying the group of Al Jazeera journalists made sure to stand in front of an IOF convoy while wearing press jackets and helmets to indicate their journalist status.

The congressional letter also highlighted the various investigations conducted by media outlets, which found that the Israeli occupation forces were behind the murder. 

Related News

Bolton dismisses Trump’s Nobel hopes over Ukraine policy shift

US pressure on Lebanon grows over Resistance disarmament plan

Investigations conducted by CNN, the New York Times, and The Washington Post have all found that the Israeli occupation was behind Abu Akleh's murder in one way or another. One thing all the outlets have in common is that the bullet that ended the life of a veteran journalist was fired from the direction of an IOF convoy that was in Jenin as part of an Israeli bid to terrorize the city's residents amid confrontations.

The Washington Post examined more than 60 videos, social media posts, and photos of the murder, conducted physical inspections of the area, and commissioned two independent acoustic analyses of the gunshots. The paper found that Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli soldier in the convoy that was near her and her colleagues.

Eyewitnesses told CNN that the Israeli forces present on the same street fired, deliberately, at the journalist even though the entourage followed journalist protocol, making sure they were seen, as a group, before moving around. 

The New York Times, on the other hand, concluded that the bullet was "fired from the approximate location of the Israeli military convoy, most likely by a soldier from an elite unit."

In the wake of the various press investigations into the crime, "Israel" seems like it won't be conducting an investigation of its own into the murder - US lawmakers, the United Nations, and the international community on the other hand are demanding an |independent investigation.

Read more: Israeli MK justifies, encourages killing of journalists

The murder has been condemned over and over again by various countries and bodies, but the world is still standing idle while the Israeli occupation robs innocent Palestinians of their lives daily, and not a single independent nor international investigation has been launched into the matter.

While the Israeli occupation is trying to pin the blame on Palestinians for Abu Akleh's murder, the letter said that "[the media outlet investigations] concluded that there was no Palestinian gunfire emanating from the location of the shooting at the time of Ms. Abu Akleh’s killing."

The letter was sent to Biden as his administration has only been encouraging the Israeli occupation to share evidence with the Palestinian Authority and vice versa instead of getting directly involved in the matter, while many sources have reported that Washington would not launch its own probe into the crime.

  • United States
  • Occupied Palestine
  • Al Jazeera
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • United Nations
  • Jenin
  • West Bank
  • Israeli occupation
  • Senate
  • Bernie Sanders
  • House of Representatives
  • Shireen Abu Akleh

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS