[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 149 (Thursday, September 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4635-S4636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SHIREEN ABU AKLEH

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, on May 19, I echoed Secretary of State 
Blinken's call for an ``independent, credible investigation'' of the 
violent death of widely respected Palestinian-American journalist 
Shireen Abu Akleh. At that time, several Members of Congress called for 
the FBI to be involved, as did I. That would be customary and 
appropriate after a tragedy like this involving a prominent American 
killed overseas under questionable circumstances.
  Secretary Blinken later said, and I agree, that ``[w]hen that 
investigation happens, we will follow the facts, wherever they lead. 
It's as straightforward as that.''
  Unfortunately, there has been no independent, credible investigation. 
Two weeks ago, without providing any details, the Israeli Government, 
after first blaming the Palestinians for Ms. Abu Akleh's death, stated 
that she was likely shot, by mistake, by an unnamed Israeli soldier. 
The State Department has concluded that gunfire from Israeli Defense 
Force--IDF--positions was likely responsible, but that there was ``no 
evidence to indicate her killing was intentional.'' The Department 
acknowledges that conclusion was not the result of an investigation, 
but rather a review of information provided by the IDF and the 
Palestinian Authority--PA. We are told that ``the Administration 
continues to believe that cooperation among Israel, the Palestinian 
Authority, and the U.S. Security Coordinator (USSC) is the best path to 
support a thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation.''
  No one can credibly think that the PA, which does not have access to 
the IDF soldier who likely fired the bullet that killed Ms. Abu Akleh 
or to other IDF personnel who may have information about it, or Israel 
which has a history of investigations of shootings by IDF soldiers that 
rarely result in accountability, can be completely relied on to 
determine and make public all the facts of what happened in this case. 
The USSC, echoing the conclusion of the IDF, apparently did not 
interview any of the IDF soldiers or any other witnesses. To say that 
fatally shooting an unarmed person, and in this case one with ``PRESS'' 
written in bold letters on her clothing, was not intentional, without 
providing any evidence to support that conclusion, calls into question 
the State Department's commitment to an independent, credible 
investigation and to ``follow the facts.''
  More than 3 months later, key questions remain unanswered.
  Other than reviewing the investigations conducted by the IDF and the 
PA, did the USSC review any of the evidence collected from other 
investigations, including those conducted by the New York Times, the 
Washington Post, CNN, the Associated Press, or the Office of the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights? If so, which of those other 
investigations did

[[Page S4636]]

the USSC review and what conclusions, if any, did the USSC reach with 
respect to those investigations?
  What specific evidence led to the USSC's conclusion ``that there is 
no reason to believe that this was intentional but rather the result of 
tragic circumstances''?
  What were the ``tragic circumstances'' the USSC was referring to?
  If the soldier who fired the fatal shot did not intend to kill Ms. 
Abu Akleh, what did he intend?
  If, as the Israeli authorities appear to be saying, the soldier 
missed who he was aiming at and hit Ms. Abu Akleh by mistake, who was 
he aiming at? What evidence is there, if any, that anyone in the 
immediate vicinity of where Ms. Abu Akleh was shot was firing at the 
IDF soldier who killed her?
  What steps will the State Department take to ensure the independent, 
credible investigation the Secretary, and many others, have called for?
  What steps has the State Department taken to determine whether the 
Leahy Law applies in this case?
  On July 5, the Department spokesperson said ``we would want to see 
accountability in any case of a wrongful death. That would especially--
and is especially the case in the wrongful death of an American 
citizen, as was Shireen Abu Akleh.'' What steps does the Department 
plan to take to ensure such accountability?
  I have also urged Israeli authorities to discipline those who were 
responsible for, and participated in, the chaos that erupted during Ms. 
Abu Akleh's funeral procession, when Israeli police needlessly beat 
mourners with batons, including the pallbearers, causing them to 
momentarily drop one end of the casket. Has anything been done?
  There is an increasing foreboding that, as in so many other cases and 
like the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, there will never be the 
independent, credible investigation and accountability that Ms. Abu 
Akleh's family, the Secretary of State, I, and others have called for. 
That would further jeopardize the safety of journalists everywhere who 
courageously risk their lives to inform the public. An independent, 
credible investigation--meaning not by the IDF and not by the PA--but 
with their full cooperation, must be conducted and the findings made 
public. Whether her killing was intentional, reckless, or a tragic 
mistake, there must be accountability. And if it was intentional, and 
if no one is held accountable, then the Leahy Law must be applied.

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