Reports: FBI opens up new inquiry into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh
The FBI may be ready to investigate whether the shooting was intentional, as Palestinian officials and Abu Akleh’s family have alleged
Mourners attend a memorial ceremony for Shireen Abu Akleh, to mark the 40th day of the killing of the Al Jazeera journalist, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 19, 2022. Photo by Abbas Momani/AFP via Getty Images
By Ron Kampeas November 14, 2022
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The FBI has opened up an investigation into the killing Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian American journalist killed in May in an exchange of fire between Palestinian and Israeli troops, Israel-based reports said.
Such an investigation is significant because the Biden administration’s State Department has already signed off on Israel’s finding that an Israeli soldier likely shot the fatal bullet, and that there was no evidence that the killing was intentional. The FBI may be ready to investigate whether the shooting was intentional, as Palestinian officials and Abu Akleh’s family have alleged.
The FBI routinely investigates alleged crimes against American citizens overseas and even has a dedicated department for such investigations. But it is rare if not unprecedented for the agency to investigate whether a soldier in an allied army is liable for a killing.
The reports Monday in multiple outlets, including Haaretz and by Axios’ Israel-based correspondent, Barak Ravid, mostly cited Israeli sources. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has asked the White House, the State Department and the FBI for confirmation.
“This is an overdue but necessary and important step in the pursuit of justice and accountability in the shooting death of American citizen and journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, wrote on Twitter, where he shared a news report about the FBI investigation.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
