USA: Publication of an interim report on the investigation into the killing of US citizen Shireen Abu Akleh

Washington, DC, July 29, 2024 – The Department of Justice (DOJ) has failed to inform the public about the progress of its two-year-long investigation into the killing of American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by the Israel Defense Forces, DAWN said today. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, DAWN called on the DOJ to release an interim report on the investigation and ensure accountability for the brutal and senseless targeted killing of Abu Akleh.

“Perhaps the Justice Department thinks we will forget the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh and the investigation it promised the American people two years ago, but that is not the case,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of DAWN. “The Justice Department should take responsibility for its blatant failure to make progress on this investigation, which has fueled Israeli impunity and led to systematic and widespread killings of Palestinian journalists, at least 108 since Shireen.”

Israeli forces shot and killed Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American citizen and celebrated Al-Jazeera journalist, during a raid on the West Bank city of Jenin on May 11, 2022. Multiple eyewitness accounts and investigations concluded that Israeli forces specifically targeted Abu Akleh, who was clearly identifiable by her vest that read “PRESS.” The Israeli sniper who specifically targeted and killed Abu Akleh shot her in the head.

In early November 2022, Israeli media reported that the FBI had informed Israel that it had launched its own investigation into the murder of Abu Akleh, following which Congress demands for transparency in this investigation. However, over the past two years, the current U.S. investigation appears to have made little to no public progress and has failed to bring the culprits to justice. The Justice Department has not provided the public or Abu Akleh’s family with any information on the progress of its investigation. Israeli officials specified from the beginning that they would not cooperate with the FBI investigation.

“Without an interim update on the investigation or a final report, it is difficult to take seriously the US claims that it is vigorously investigating and holding accountable the extrajudicial killings of American citizens,” said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, Israel-Palestine research director at DAWN. “The lack of demonstrable progress also deepens the grief of the Abu Akleh family, who filed a formal complaint with the ICC in May 2022 about Abu Akleh’s killing by IDF forces.”

In the letter, DAWN raised several questions about the Justice Department’s investigative steps, including whether investigators had collected physical evidence, interviewed witnesses, and obtained medical records. DAWN also asked the Justice Department to describe the extent of Israel’s cooperation with its investigation. The American public has every right to this basic information about the investigation promised by the Justice Department, if only to reassure the public that it takes seriously its responsibility to protect and defend Americans facing violence abroad.

DAWN called on the Justice Department to answer these questions in a timely manner and to release the results of its investigation to date. The organization remains committed to protecting journalists and promoting human rights and democracy in the Middle East, as its late founder Jamal Khashoggi envisioned.