[Salon] The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh: Tracing a Bullet to an Israeli Convoy

FM: John Whitbeck

THe NEW YORK TIMES has today published its own investigative report into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, which, like the prior investigative reports published by the ASSOCIATED PRESS, CNN and the WASHINGTON POST, concludes that she was shot by an Israeli soldier.

A link to the TIMES's report, which includes photos and videos, is transmitted below:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/world/middleeast/palestian-journalist-killing-shireen.html

Secretary of State Blinken and other U.S. government spokesmen keep repeating that the United States wants to see a full, independent and transparent investigation into Shireen's killing. While AP, CNN, the POST and the TIMES have all now proven themselves capable of carrying out full, independent and transparent investigations, does the U.S. government believe that it lacks sufficient investigative capacities even to attemp one? And since all four news organizations, none of which can be accused of anti-Israel or antisemitic bias, have reached the same conclusion of Israeli responsibility, what genuine and relevant doubt remains?

It should be transparently evident that the U.S. government's appeals for some hypothetical investigation are simply a way to contend that the truth is not yet known and may never be known -- at least, implicitly, until the Israeli government announces publicly its own version of "truth". One may hope that the TIMES's report will make this attempted U.S. government cover-up more difficult to sustain.

While the Israeli government demands that the Palestinian authorities turn over the bullet and the Palestinian authorities demand that Israel turn over the gun, neither the bullet nor the gun is relevant to the only significant question as which the truth remains unknown: Did the Israeli sniper/sharpshooter act on his own initiative, simply feeling in the mood to test his skills by trying to kill some Palestinians, or was he acting on instructions to try to kill one or more Palestinian journalists and/or Shireen in particular.

Since Israel knows who shot Shireen, it must know the answer. Since neither of the two alternatives would constitute good publicity for Israel, I am frankly surprised that, soon after Shireen's death, Israel did not release a video in which the sniper/sharpshooter states, ideally with emotional strain and on the verge of tears, that he honestly thought that he was shooting at terrorists and is terribly sorry that he accidentally killed an American journalist. Such a performance would surely be sufficient for the U.S. government to close its books on the affair and move forward in providing further services to Israel.

Perhaps the Israeli authorities assumed that international -- and particularly American -- concerns regarding Shireen's killing would fade away with the passage of time. Since the opposite trajectory appears to be taking shape, such a performance may well be forthcoming before President Biden's pilgrimage to Israel next month.