WASHINGTON

- In light of the strategic alliance between the United States and Israel, many in Washington were surprised by Israel's categorical refusal to launch the FBI investigation into the murder of Sherine Abu Aqleh - a journalist for the Al-Jazeera network - and its condemnation of the investigation, describing it as a "fatal mistake" and its pledge not to cooperate with him.

The Israeli rejection of the American investigations came despite the assurances of Kari Gleicher - the former FBI legal attaché in Israel - about the office's role and what it is doing in building important and beneficial partnerships for the two parties in the joint investigations.

"The FBI's mission in Israel revolves around building and strengthening long-term relationships, allowing the bureau's leadership in Washington to communicate with any of the Israeli leaders at any time," Gleicher says - in a video on the FBI website.


pressure from within the democratic camp

The positions of US President Joe Biden's administration varied from hesitation to condemn the killing of Sherine Abu Aqleh to demand a transparent investigation. From the first moments of the killing of journalist Sherine Abu Aqleh, the Biden administration hesitated to adopt the Palestinian version, preferring the Israeli one, and called for "a joint investigation to uncover the circumstances of the incident."

Although Sherine Abu Aqle holds American citizenship, Washington did not disclose its desire to join the investigators in her murder, and the only reason for that is that such an initiative might anger the Israeli side.

The pressure of 57 Democratic US lawmakers - who sent a letter to the FBI Director and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken demanding an investigation into Sherine's murder - prompted the FBI to launch an investigation into the case.

Previous investigations conducted by Al-Jazeera Network and Western media, including CNN, the Associated Press and the Washington Post, confirmed that the late colleague was shot dead by the Israeli army.

Israel presented conflicting accounts, as it initially claimed that Shireen was killed by Palestinian gunmen, before retracting and announcing last September that there was a very high possibility that she was killed by an Israeli soldier's bullets "by mistake."

Democratic Senator from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, tweeted, welcoming the Ministry of Justice's step, describing it as "a late, but necessary and important step in the pursuit of justice and accountability for the shooting death of American citizen and journalist Sherine Abu Aqelah."

This is an overdue but necessary and important step in the pursuit of justice and accountability in the shooting death of an American citizen and journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh.

https://t.co/2XMKeRVbRu

- Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) November 14, 2022

The insolence of the Israeli rejection

In an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Sarah Lee Watson, executive director of the "Democracy Organization for the Arab World Now," said, "While it is usual for Israel to refuse any cooperation with international bodies, such as the International Criminal Court, which investigate the crimes of its security forces, it is surprising For the Israelis to brazenly refuse to cooperate with their greatest ally, the United States. It is a sign of blatant disrespect and ungratefulness for the billions of dollars worth of weapons that the United States sends to Israel every year."

Sarah Lee Watson added, "Israel's claim that the FBI investigation interferes in its internal affairs is absurd, while it - that is, Israel - is very happy to rely on US military support," noting that the FBI is doing the right thing by investigating the killing of an American citizen. As he did with the killings of other Americans around the world, especially since Israel has clearly shown that it covers up the crimes committed by its soldiers.

In turn, Ambassador David Mack, a former assistant secretary of state for Middle East affairs and now an expert at the Atlantic Council, confirmed that "if Israel does not cooperate with this investigation into the killing of Sherine Abu Aqelah, it will anger many American political leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties."

He continued in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, "If Israel wants to continue to be a close security and political partner of the United States, then it must retreat from this dangerous position, and he asked, Will Israel accept the lack of cooperation of American officials if a prominent Israeli journalist was assassinated in the United States? Israel must Keep in mind that there are limits to the tolerance that American governments and citizens have shown toward most Israeli positions.

"The details of Shirin's murder reveal that the victim was well known to Israel and was clearly identified as a journalist, which has led even many of Israel's friends in the United States to expect more reasonable behavior on the part of Israel," Mac adds.


Fixed charges

Palestinian officials, the family of the martyr Abu Aqelah, and the Al-Jazeera network accuse Israel of deliberately targeting and killing her, especially since she was wearing a helmet and a protective vest bearing the word "press" when she was shot in broad daylight last May in the occupied West Bank.

It is not unusual or unusual for the FBI to conduct investigations into unnatural deaths of US citizens abroad, especially if they were government employees.

However, such separate investigations are not the norm, and it is rare, if not unprecedented, for them to occur in a US-allied “country” like Israel that is recognized in Washington as having an independent judicial system.

For his part, Aaron David Miller, a former diplomat and now an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted in his tweet, “Congressional pressure for an American investigation into the death of Shireen Abu Aqelah is an implicit warning to the next Israeli government. There may, in fact, be some limitations.” support the United States for Israeli actions against the Palestinians.

See @Bsamuels0 story @Haaretz on Congressional pressure for US inquiry into death of Shireen Abu Akleh.

An implicit warning to the next Israeli government.

There may actually be some limits to US support for Israeli actions against Palestinians.

https://t.co/qydnpsiEJx

- Aaron David Miller (@aarondmiller2) November 15, 2022

For its part, the US Department of Justice did not reveal when the investigation would begin, and what it would entail.

The announcement of the investigation represents a rare step in light of the special relations between the two sides.