The U.S. State Department has renewed its condemnation of the murder of fellow Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Aqleh and said it expects those responsible for her killing to be held fully accountable, while press investigations have revealed the responsibility of the Israeli occupation army in the killing.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said – at Tuesday’s daily press briefing – that he expects the Israelis and Palestinians to update Washington on their investigations into Shirin’s murder continually, and called for a full and thorough investigation into her killing that leads to accountability.
CNN reported that it had gathered evidence confirming that the Israeli army deliberately targeted Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqila in Jenin.
A report from the American network said that its team’s investigation and the evidence it collected indicate that Shirin was targeted by Israeli forces and that the evidence confirms that there were no militants or armed clashes near Shirin in the moments before her murder.
An Associated Press investigation concluded that the bullet that killed her colleague Shireen was fired from an Israeli soldier’s rifle.
It should be noted that an investigation on the island had already reached the same conclusion.
In addition, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said that the Palestinian Authority’s referral of the case of the murder of Shireen Abu Aqleh to the International Criminal Court aims to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people.
Shtayyeh stressed – in an interview with CNN – that there is no way to accept a joint investigation with the Israeli army into the murder of Abu Aqila.
The Israeli occupation authorities are still refraining from opening an investigation into the murder of Shireen Abu Aqleh, despite the fact that its first examinations proved that its soldiers had shot at the location of the Al-Jazeera journalist.
The former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that the evidence must be clear to present the case of Shirin’s murder to the criminal court.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, the former international official added that specialized experts and more research must conduct a criminal investigation must be done to find out the circumstances of Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder.
The UN Security Council in New York held an informal session on the protection of journalists in international conflicts, and most of the interventions focused on the killing of Al-Jazeera correspondent Sherine Abu Akleh and the call for an investigation into its circumstances.
In his briefing, Al Jazeera’s Washington bureau chief, Abdul Rahim Fuqara, said Shirin’s tragic murder highlights the Security Council’s responsibility to protect civilians, including journalists.
The briefing also stated that Al Jazeera’s position is clear that the life of its journalist, Shireen, is important, as is the independent and transparent investigation into her murder.
In her speech to the Security Council session, the Irish delegate to the UN Security Council, Geraldine Byrne Nason, called for an immediate independent investigation into the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh. Nason demanded – at the session convened by her country – that the perpetrators be held accountable, and stressed that it is absolutely unacceptable to target a journalist anywhere.
U.S. delegate to the UN Economic and Social Council, Lisa Carty, said the U.S. expects full accountability after the investigation into the murder of Shireen Abu Aqleh is completed.
