Tlaib: FBI opening investigation is first step towards accountability for Shireen’s assassination
Washington (QNN)- US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has applauded the FBI opening an investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, calling the US administration to “ensure that this investigation is conducted in a transparent, credible, and unbiased manner.”
Despite wearing a protective helmet and blue bulletproof vest clearly marked as “PRESS,” the 51-year-old veteran journalist was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the head while she was covering an Israeli military raid into the Jenin refugee camp on May 11, sparking international outrage and calls for accountability for attacks on journalists.
There have been several reports by Israeli and US media outlets on Monday that the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) recently informed Israeli occupation authorities that the FBI has opened an investigation into the killing of the veteran journalist.
The FBI investigation could lead to a U.S. request to investigate the Israeli soldiers who were involved in the operation — a request ‘Israel’ would almost certainly reject, according to Axios.
Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz called the FBI decision “a grave mistake” and said ‘Israel’ will refuse to cooperate.
“The IDF conducted an independent and professional investigation. I have made it clear to the U.S. government that we won’t cooperate with any external investigation and won’t allow any interference in Israel’s internal affairs,” he added in a tweet on Monday.
In a Tuesday tweet, Tlaib wrote, “The FBI opening an investigation is the first step towards real accountability for Shireen’s assassination and it is long overdue. Unsurprisingly, the Israeli government is already refusing to cooperate.”
“To be clear—the Abu Akleh family should never have had to fight for justice or to get an investigation into her murder. I urge the FBI and the Justice Department to take every step possible to ensure that this investigation is conducted in a transparent, credible, and unbiased manner,” Tlaib added.
The FBI opening an investigation is the first step towards real accountability for Shireen's assassination and it is long overdue. Unsurprisingly, the Israeli government is already refusing to cooperate.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) November 14, 2022
Tlaib had previously called for a US probe into the killing, rather than relying on ‘Israel’ to investigate its own actions. In May, she held a moment of silence on the floor of the House of Representatives to honor Abu Akleh.
“People woke up to the killing Shireen Abu Akleh and I would like to do a moment of silence [over this] this shocking news, a journalist of over twenty years, a Palestinian-American killed,” said Tlaib on the House floor.
She had also signed several letters that urged the US administration to investigate the journalist’s killing, including a May letter calling for an independent FBI investigation.
Tlaib, the first Palestinian Progressive Democrat and was born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents, has been one of the most outspoken politicians on Israeli occupation of her homeland, Palestine.
