The US secretary of state says he urged his Israeli counterpart to conclude “investigations” into the assassination of journalist Al Jazeera.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid that “investigations” into the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh must be completed, the U.S. Department of Justice said. State.
In a statement on Friday describing talks with the Israeli foreign minister, the State Department said Blinken “stressed the importance of concluding investigations into the death” of Abu Akleh, a U.S. citizen. United.
The veteran journalist was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank earlier this month.
It was unclear what investigations Blinken was referring to, but earlier the State Department said it would entrust Israel to conduct an investigation into the murder of the veteran journalist in the Palestinian city of Jenin.
In a series of tweets on Friday, Lapid said he had promised Blinken that Israel “would share the results of [its] investigation “into the assassination of Abu Akleh” with the United States as is the common practice among our countries. “
The Israeli military said last week that it would not open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh’s deadly shooting. But on Monday, Israeli media quoted the Israeli army’s top lawyer as saying that the army “is making every effort” to investigate the incident.
The Biden administration has been under pressure to launch a U.S.-led independent investigation into what happened, including dozens of Democratic members of Congress calling for an FBI investigation.
But while Washington has condemned the assassination of Abu Akleh, State Department spokesman Ned Price has said Israel has “the means and capabilities to conduct a thorough and thorough investigation.”
Blinken’s call to Lapid on Friday comes a day after the Palestinian Authority said the results of its own investigation into the murder of the veteran journalist showed that Israeli forces had deliberately shot and killed her.
Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, a reporter from Washington on Friday, said: “.
Fisher added, however, that “there is no indication that anyone … in the State Department or in the White House is pressuring Israelis to accept an FBI investigation,” as demanded by Democratic lawmakers. .
This FBI investigation “is something that Palestinians and many in the international community would see as an independent investigation into the murder,” he said.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera Media Network has assigned a legal team to refer the murder to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The network said on Thursday that it had formed an international coalition consisting of its legal team along with international experts and that it was preparing a dossier on the assassination of Abu Akleh to be presented to the ICC prosecutor.
Earlier this week, Al Jazeera’s chief of staff in Washington, DC, Abderrahim Foukara, also urged the international community to help ensure a “transparent and independent investigation” into the assassination of Abu Akleh. and an attack by Israeli forces at his funeral.
Israeli police attacked Abu Akleh’s funeral procession in Jerusalem and beat the bearers carrying his coffin with batons in scenes that provoked more anger and demanded responsibility.
“Al Jazeera’s position is very clear: Shireen Abu Akleh’s life matters, as well as a transparent and independent investigation into her murder and the grave violation of her funeral by Israeli security forces,” Foukara said. at the UN Security Council during an informal session. .