Press Freedom Day: US slammed over response to Abu Akleh killing

Department of State official reiterates US is pressing Israel to ‘review its policies’ after Al Jazeera reporter’s killing. 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. Adam Shapiro, director of advocacy for Israel-Palestine at Democracy for the Arab World Now, a US-based rights group, said Washington’s response to the killing of Abu Akleh has been “pathetic from the start”. ‘Unintentional’ Although the US has not conducted its own investigation into the case, Patel said on Wednesday that the killing of Abu Akleh was “unintentional”. “President Biden and Secretary Blinken omitting the Israeli military’s brutal murder of Shireen Abu Akleh during World Press Freedom Day shows a dehumanizing disregard toward Palestinians, as well as a weak commitment by this administration to freedom of the press,” Ahmad Abuznaid, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, told Al Jazeera in an email.