Advocates say US should not allow Israel to investigate itself for killing of second American citizen this year. Washington, DC – The US Department of State often says that it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad”.
But on Wednesday morning, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh became the second American this year to be killed by Israel – a top recipient of US military aid and Washington’s closest ally in the region. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price was quick to condemn the killing and call for an investigation, but later in the day, he confirmed that Washington trusts Israel to investigate itself and would not call for an independent probe.
Ahmad Abuznaid, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, said calls for investigations are “empty gestures” if the probe is to be left for Israel. “You can’t ask the Israelis to investigate themselves when they’ve been abusing human rights for over 70 years and expect them to arrive at a different result that they’ve been arriving at after all these decades,” Abuznaid told Al Jazeera.
“These are atrocities that the international community has witnessed time and time again – whether recorded on live footage or not – and we have never seen accountability.”
Source: aljazeera.com
Friday, May 1, 2026
