Agencies-Gaza post
US offers condolences to Abu Akleh Family, calls for credible probe into her killing
Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State called for an “immediate and credible investigation” into the occurrences of the killing of Palestinian-US journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Blinken said that he spoke to Shireen’s brother during his flight on Saturday to Berlin, where he participated in a summit of NATO foreign ministers.
“I had a chance to express our deep condolences for her loss, our deep respect for the work that she did as a journalist for many years,” he told reporters in Berlin.
Blinken called for “an immediate and credible investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death,” expressing his deep condolences for her loss and deep respect for the “work that she did as a journalist for many years – widely respected around the world.”
The US ambassadors in Jerusalem support Shireen’s family, according to a US State Department official.
During her funeral on Friday, Shireen’s coffin almost fell to the ground when Israeli police attacked the pallbearers, according to scenes broadcast by local TV stations.
The State Department urged a transparent investigation into Shireen’s murder.
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli army official asserted that the soldier charged with killing Abu Akleh had been questioned and was sitting in an Israeli vehicle 190 meters away from the journalist.
He was sitting in a jeep, armed with a rifle with a telescopic lens, and shooting through a firing slit, stated Haaretz.
The official told the newspaper that the analysis is still in its early stages, and it is challenging to achieve the probe without Palestinian cooperation.
