Twenty-four Democratic members of the US Senate sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to engage directly in the investigation into the assassination of Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Aqleh in the West Bank.
Democratic lawmakers said in a letter to Biden, "It is clear that neither side trusts the other to conduct an independent and effective investigation into the killing of Shirin Abu Aqleh," who was killed while covering the occupation forces' storming of the Jenin area on May 11.
"We believe at this stage that in order to achieve that goal, the United States must be directly involved in the killing of Abu Akila," the letter, which Al Jazeera obtained a copy of, said.
The legislators noted that there has been no clear progress towards conducting an "independent, comprehensive and transparent investigation" into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh.
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The Democratic Representatives indicated in their letter that 57 members of the House of Representatives called on the FBI last month to launch an independent investigation to find out the truth about the killing of the Al-Jazeera reporter.
The signatories to the letter stressed that they joined today this request, which they said has become urgent in light of the new information that has emerged in the past weeks.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said last week that Washington was seeking more information about the investigation by the Israeli authorities into the killing of the Al-Jazeera reporter, and Price added, during a press conference, that Israel is able to conduct an investigation into the "horrific and tragic" killing of Shirin. He stressed that accountability is an important element in this case.
For her part, White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre said that Washington is in close contact with both Israel and the Palestinian authorities regarding the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
She added during her daily press conference that the US administration expects full accountability for those responsible for what happened to colleague Abu Aqleh, and that it calls on both sides to maintain calm and avoid further escalation.