Slain Palestinian journalist’s brother says new findings over killing reveal US cover-up
LONDON: The brother of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead by the Israeli army while covering a raid in the West Bank in 2022, has alleged that new revelations from an American military officer who investigated her killing reveal a US cover-up.
Tony Abu Akleh’s comments follow a report by The New York Times stating that Col. Steve Gabavics and four other unnamed sources who were part of the investigative team concluded that Shireen, a Palestinian-American correspondent for Al Jazeera, was intentionally killed, but that the administration of then US President Joe Biden “soft-pedaled” this assessment to appease Israel.
“It was from day one we knew everything. They were trying to cover it up … obviously for political gains,” Tony told the BBC on Tuesday.
“We believe that the US government intentionally downplayed these findings and softened the language just to avoid holding Israel accountable, which is really disappointing. No government should compromise the truth and the safety of its citizens to protect political interests.”
