Summit of the Americas: US Calls for Independent Investigation into Death of Palestinian Journalist

IX Summit of the Americas. US Secretary of State, Antony Blinkenreiterated on Tuesday that his country wants an “independent investigation” into the murder of the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh so that they can be held accountable for what happened.

This was expressed during a forum on press freedom, held within the framework of the XI Summit of the Americas, in Los Angeles, in which he was rebuked by a member of the public for the inaction of the United States in the face of the death of Abu Akleh.

“No, sorry, we still don’t know (the truth). We are looking for a full, independent and truthful investigation. When this investigation has taken place, we will follow the facts,” Blinken replied.

The foreign minister also defined Abu Akleh as “an outstanding journalist” and stressed that she had US citizenship.

This veteran Al Jazeera journalist was shot dead last month during an Israeli raid on the West Bank city of Jenin, an incident that caused consternation among Palestinians and internationally.

The investigation by the attorney general of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) concluded that Israeli troops deliberately killed the journalist.

Israel, for its part, initially accused Palestinian militiamen of shooting the reporter, although it later clarified that it had no conclusive information to establish who killed her without having the bullet.

His authorities requested a joint investigation with the ANP, which refused to carry it out and carried out an autopsy on its own.