Will anyone be held accountable for Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder?
On June 9, at 19:30GMT:
June 11th marks one month since the assassination of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli forces. Despite international outrage and condemnation, there has still been no formal investigation into her killing.
Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American, was covering Israeli army raids in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank when a sniper’s bullet struck her in the head. She was wearing a press vest and helmet and was standing with other journalists when the group came under fire. Fellow Al Jazeera journalist, Ali Al-Samoudi, was also hit but survived. The Israeli military has said it will not conduct a criminal probe into her death. Meanwhile, the calls for an international investigation are mounting.
Last week a group of Israeli NGO’s formally requested that the United Nations assemble special rapporteurs to probe the killing. A group of bipartisan US congress members have called on the White House to pressure the Palestinian Authority to release the bullet that struck Akleh so that ballistic analysis can determine who fired the shot. The Palestinian Authority has refused on the grounds it doesn’t trust Israel to conduct a fair investigation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has vowed the United States would follow the facts and pursue accountability for those responsible.
On this episode of The Stream we discuss how people continue to honour Abu Akleh’s memory, as we ask “Will anyone be held accountable?”.
On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:
Nida Ibrahim, @nida_journo
Al Jazeera English Correspondent
Lina Abu Akleh, @LinaAbuAkleh
Niece of Shireen Abu Akleh
Yasmeen Serhan, @YasmeenSerhan
Staff Writer, The Atlantic