Israel should not be allowed to whitewash the murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh with another sham ‘investigation’.
The only possible feedback for suggest hastily Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid asked the Palestinians to conduct “a joint pathological investigation” into what the killing of prominent Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh would have been.
Such “investigation” conducted by Israel is not intended to uncover the truth but to bury it, not to establish accountability but to protect punishment, not to charge the perpetrators but to protect them.
The request for a “joint investigation” into the killing of Abu Akleh coming directly from Foreign Minister Lapid – and later repeated by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett – speaks to the extent of Israel’s concern about the public relations crisis. that the country is facing. Such offers of “investigation” and “analysis” are often delegated to lower-ranking officials in Israel’s whitewash apparatus.
Indeed, Israel only engages in such high-profile vindication if it believes that killing a Palestinian could damage the country’s image. Otherwise, it doesn’t even mind such empty gestures.
B’Tselem has tried in good faith to participate in Israel’s domestic investigative mechanisms for decades. Over the years, we have submitted hundreds of applications to the relevant authorities asking for cases of Palestinians being killed by Israeli security forces to be investigated, but meaningful accountability has never been achieved. perform. Six years ago, we concluded that what we were dealing with was not merely a dysfunctional investigative mechanism but an organized, systematic one. whitewashing activity. We have therefore decided to continue our work on such murders – but never to participate in the so-called Israeli “investigation”.
Israel’s investigative mechanism is clearly a charade. Even when an investigation into the killing of a Palestinian at the hands of the Israeli military is opened, it is almost never conclusive that someone is charged. This whole mechanic is a charade because, in fact, its flaws are its essential features – features that allow it to deliver punishment. For starters, the military is tasked with investigating itself. Soldiers are often interviewed unchallenged, almost no attempt is made to gather outside evidence, and “investigation” is carried out over many years. On top of that, even the hypocrisy described above only targets low-level soldiers – those who have a policy of allowing soldiers to incite Palestinians never face any scrutiny. . All of this, although in many cases the deaths were not caused by any deviation from Israeli military policies but rather criminal policies.
Take, for example, the case of Israeli snipers shooting at unarmed Palestinians at the Gaza fence during the Great Return Day protests. Israel has carried out”investigate“On some specific sniper cases. But no one investigated – and no one in Israel will – the rules of engagement themselves.
Israel’s pro-military general – who is also in charge of Israel’s military investigations – is tasked with giving such policies the green light. So, obviously, no one is to blame for giving out blatantly illegal orders to snipers.
Israel needs punishment to maintain Racist regime. It cannot maintain control over a subjugated population without state violence. So it is essential that the regime provide for itself with general retribution – while carrying out what looks like an investigation, to assuage international expectations.
Punishment paved the way for more murders. Don’t make excuses for Israeli propaganda, they promise to “investigate”. Israel will not hold itself accountable, just as its apartheid regime will not destroy itself. International stakeholders do not call the matter simply a cog in Israel’s bleaching machine. The grotesque US pressure on the Palestinians to accept a “shared“Investigate and statement by US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides vaguely “encouraging” an investigation, only demonstrating the extent to which the Biden administration continues to act as such a cog.
Shireen Abu Akleh once said that while “it may not be easy to change reality”, she can at least bring “people’s voices to the world”. To keep that voice alive, to honor her legacy, and to demand justice, please: Say no to Israeli propaganda, see reality clearly, and prove to Israel that the time to bear the final responsibility – albeit belatedly – has arrived.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of Al Jazeera.
