The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) – a nonprofit press freedom advocacy organization – has called on the US Biden Administration to lead a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The CPJ released a statement on Monday, saying that the US has the authority and responsibility to fully investigate the killing of Abu Akleh.
“While your administration has called for an investigation, more than one month after Abu Akleh’s killing, only journalists have carried out serious probes of the incident,” the statement read.
NEW: Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a US-led investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh.https://t.co/SgGYfbGkT1
— J Street (@jstreetdotorg) June 27, 2022
“Multiple journalistic investigations of the shooting suggest Abu Akleh was killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fire,” it added
The CPJ said in its statement that “Israel’s attacks on journalists and media facilities is a trend that CPJ has documented over decades”.
“Exactly one year prior to Abu Akleh’s killing – May 11, 2021 – Israeli warplanes began a bombing campaign targeting at least four buildings in Gaza housing the offices of 18 international and local media outlets. In seeking to justify these attacks, Israeli officials claimed Hamas was using the buildings for military purposes.”
The CPJ also condemned the killing of Palestinian photojournalist and camera operator Yaser Murtaja, assassinated in April 2018 while covering protests in the area e”ast of Khan Younis.
CPJ calls for swift, transparent investigation into shooting death of Al-Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh while reporting in West Bank https://t.co/6PfaUxJez0
— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) May 11, 2022
“He was wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet that were clearly marked with the word PRESS and was more than 1,000 feet away from the border fence when he was hit in the abdomen with a live round,” the CPJ stated.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
