Today, Thursday, the family of our colleague Shireen Abu Akleh held a press conference in front of Congress in Washington, which was attended by a number of American representatives and representatives of the Organization to Protect Journalists, as the speakers reiterated their demands for a transparent and urgent American investigation to reveal the truth.

Senator Diana Bhutto called for a comprehensive, transparent and independent investigation into the killing of colleague Shireen, stressing the need to hold "friends and enemies" accountable to ensure respect for press freedom and human rights.

"We will continue to press to ensure that those responsible for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh are held accountable," said Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley.

Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat in the House of Representatives, said that the United States supported the principle of accountability towards violations in the world, considering that President Joe Biden's failure to invite the family of Sherine Abu Akleh is unacceptable.

Ilhan Omar added that Shireen Abu Aqleh was a journalist doing a job protected by constitutions, and demanded justice for her by investigating her murder through the US Departments of State and Justice.

She also said, "It is our responsibility, the Americans, to investigate the killing of Shireen Abu Aqleh... We will not back down and we will not calm down until justice is achieved for Shireen."

As for Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, she said that Shirin Abu Aqleh's family could not even grieve for her, because she was met with Israeli oppression.

She added: I ask President Biden to assign the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, "FBI" (FBI) to investigate the killing of Shereen.

In turn, Congressman Andre Carson said that Sherine's killing was an attack on press freedom, adding, "We need answers to hold the perpetrator accountable."

Carson added that other justice for journalists legislation is being worked out, requiring relevant federal agencies to report on all Americans.

Ilhan Omar: We will not back down and we will not calm down until justice is achieved for Sherine Abu Akleh (Al Jazeera)

Documenting Israeli violations

The Organization to Protect Journalists said that it had documented many Israeli attacks on journalists and media organizations, which it considered "extremely disturbing."

The representative of the organization added that the protection of the press is a well-established principle in the policies of the United States, calling on President Biden to move quickly and assign the FBI to investigate the killing of Shereen.

"We previously asked President Biden for a transparent and independent US investigation, and we have not received any response to this day," he added.

Part of the press conference (Al Jazeera)

family demands

In the same press conference, Shireen's brother, Anton Abu Aqila, also spoke, and said that his family's demand had not changed, and that an American investigation would lead to real accountability in the killing of Shireen.

He explained that the family asked US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to withdraw a previous statement that was talking about the American vision of the circumstances of Shirin's killing.

Anton added, "Shirin deserves all the efforts we are making in search of justice, and we are aware of the difficulty of this for the Palestinians."