Family of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh demand accountability for her death
Today marks four months since Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead in Israel. The Israeli military only recently admitted to being responsible for her death but ruled it an accident, and said it was dropping the matter. Lina Abu Akleh, Shireen’s niece, accused the Israelis of obfuscating the truth. “Now, more than ever they want to sweep it under the rug,” she said on ‘Velshi.’ Shireen’s family is calling on the United States to intervene and carry out its own independent investigation into the killing of its own citizen. “It’s so infuriating that they haven’t taken any action to hold Israel responsible for the killing.” Instead, Lina says her family has had to “shoulder the task” of holding Israel accountable for Shireen’s death. She also accused the Israeli forces of trying to silence Shireen a second time when they attacked mourners at her funeral. “They didn’t let us mourn in peace,” she said, adding, “They killed her once, and they continued to try and silence her.”