The family of Palestinian-American journalist Sherin Abu Aqila, who was killed during a raid by the Israeli army, has pressured US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken to demand answers from Israel, but the US administration has refused to accept the demand for an investigation. .
According to the French news agency AFP, on Tuesday, the US Secretary of State called Shirin Abu Aqila's relatives to Washington for a meeting.
Sherin Abu Aqila's family tried to meet US President Joe Biden at the beginning of this month, which was not possible.
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It should be noted that Shirin Abu Aqilah was a reporter for Al Jazeera who was killed during an Israeli raid in the West Bank on May 11 this year.
Speaking to AFP outside the US State Department after an hour-long meeting with Antony Blanken, the 27-year-old niece of the slain journalist, Lena Abu Aqila, said, "We are calling for accountability and justice for Shireen." '
"If Shireen's murder is not held accountable, it is a signal to other governments to kill American citizens."
He said Antony Blanken acknowledged the family's concerns about the lack of transparency and promised to establish a better means of (inter)communication.
According to Lena Abu Aqila, "He (Antony Blanken) did not make any promises to the family's demands for an independent American investigation into the death of the well-known Palestinian journalist, who also had American citizenship."
The United States said in a statement released on July 4 that Shirin Abu Aqila was likely shot by the Israeli army, but there is no evidence that his killing was intentional. The bullet is heavily damaged due to which the final results cannot be obtained.
The slain journalist's family called for a retraction of the statement, which was based on US assessments of separate Israeli and Palestinian investigations.
On the other hand, after meeting Shirin Abu Aqila's family, the US Secretary of State said in a tweet that "Abu Aqila was respected around the world for his fearless journalism."
"I have expressed my condolences for his tragic killing and expressed my determination to seek accountability," he added.
