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US Congress members demand FBI investigation into Abu Akleh killing

The draft letter requests the Department of State examine a potential breach of US laws.

Jerusalem24– Two Congressional Democrats are circulating a draft for a letter demanding an FBI investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, The Intercept revealed yesterday.

Representatives André Carson and Lou Correa are in the process of gathering signatures for the letter. Addressing FBI Director Christopher Wray and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the draft letter requests both an FBI investigation as well as a determination by the State Department about whether the killing of the American journalist in Israeli-occupied territory violated any US laws.

“We have a duty to protect Americans reporting abroad.”

“Given the tenuous situation in the region and the conflicting reports surrounding the death of Abu Akleh,” the letter says, “we request the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) launch an investigation into Ms. Abu Akleh’s death. We also request the U.S. Department of State determine whether any U.S. laws protecting Ms. Abu Akleh, an American citizen, were violated.”

The letter concludes, “As an American, Ms. Abu Akleh was entitled to the full protections afforded to U.S. citizens living abroad. We have a duty to protect Americans reporting abroad.”

Abu Akleh, a prominent and beloved Al Jazeera journalist, was reporting on an Israeli military raid on Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank last Wednesday when she was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken received sharp criticism from within his own political circles concerning the wording of his condemnation of the Israeli police attack on Abu Akleh’s funeral procession on Friday.

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