Qatari-based Al Jazeera refers to a “barrage of questions” that are being asked “about what the United States has done to get accountability for the killing of Shireen Abu Aklehed in cold blood.” There are a few problems with these questions/assertions:
1. It isn’t explicit who is asking the questions, so one can reasonably deduce that any questions raised would be from anti-Israel players with no particular interest in truth or justice. For instance, Abu Akleh’s death was absurdly likened by a MSNBC News anchor to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, while Palestinian antisemite and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib called the killing of Abu Akleh a “targeted assassination” by Israel, and demanded that the FBI open a criminal investigation
2. The United States has no jurisdiction over Israel. Israel is a sovereign nation.
3. Shireen Abu Akleh was not killed by Israel in cold blood. It was an accidental killing. In fact, a documentary showed that it was actually the Palestinian Authority that was responsible for her death.
The opportunistic gang-up against Israel is ceaseless. There are major issues to address on Press Freedom Day, such as cancel culture and how little freedom journalists have in Islamic countries and countries such as North Korea and China. Yet Israel is always conjured up as a target in the ongoing propaganda war against it. The propaganda war fuels the jihad.
“Press Freedom Day: US slammed over response to Abu Akleh killing,” by Ali Harb, Al Jazeera, May 3, 2023:
Washington, DC – A spokesperson for the US State Department has faced a barrage of questions about what the United States has done to get accountability for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Al Jazeera journalist who was fatally shot by Israeli forces last year.
At a news briefing on Wednesday, which coincided with World Press Freedom Day, Vedant Patel repeatedly told reporters that Washington is seeking accountability by asking Israel to review its military rules of engagement.
“[Reviewing] rules of engagement sounds like it’s something to deter and prevent this [from] happening again,” one visibly frustrated journalist said. “Is there an active effort of the US seeking accountability from Israel?”
Patel responded, “There is an active effort. And since Shireen’s tragic death, we have continued to press Israel to closely review its policies and practices on rules of engagements and consider additional steps to mitigate risk of civilian harm and protect journalists.”
Next week will mark the anniversary of the killing of Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American reporter who was fatally shot by Israeli forces on May 11, 2022, while covering a military raid in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Al Jazeera Media Network said that day that she was “assassinated in cold blood”.
But Washington has rejected efforts to seek accountability for the killing at the International Criminal Court (ICC), drawing condemnation from press freedom and Palestinian rights advocates who have called on US President Joe Biden’s administration to demand justice….