Whitewash!

by Stephen Lendman

Israeli soldiers have virtual carte blanche to murder or brutalize Palestinians with impunity — because they're Arabs, not Jews.

It's been this way throughout Jewish state history, one among many other features of apartheid viciousness.

On May 11, an Israeli sniper murdered Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in cold blood — to silence her truth-telling reports.

Multiple eyewitnesses and video evidence proved what's indisputable.

A previous article discussed an investigation of Shireen's murder by the Al Haq human rights group.

Evidence it uncovered showed that Israeli soldiers used live fire against Palestinian journalists, ones wearing vests clearly marked "PRESS."

Journalist Ali Samoudi was wounded in his left shoulder by a bullet fired "from the back side, which exited from the front side of his body." 

"Shireen, who was standing against a wall and a tree, screamed 'Ali is hit.' " 

"(S)econds (later she was lethally shot) with a bullet to her head and fell immediately to the ground." 

Wearing a flak jacket and helmet, the IDF sniper aimed at an unprotected part of her head, knowing that the shot most likely would be fatal.

Israeli soldiers continued to use live fire with intent to kill or wound Palestinian journalists involved in covering an IDF raid on a Jenin refugee camp.

Dr Rayyan al-Ali, director of the Forensic Medicine Institute at An-Najah University in Nablus city explained the following: 

"(D)isfigured shrapnel was found inside (Abu Akleh's) brain."

It "indicates that the bullet may be a type only available and used by the IOF." 

Al Haq stressed the following:

An Israeli sniper killed Shireen — her murder in cold blood constituting "a grave breach of international humanitarian law (as well as) an attack on journalism (and) freedom of expression."

Israeli targeting of Palestinian journalists is longstanding practice by its ruling regimes to silence their truth-telling voices. 

The Palestinian Authority (PA) had possession of the Israeli bullet that killed Shireen.

Israel installed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas in 2005 to serve its interests.

He remains in office as long as he continues to salute and obey his Israeli master, as well as hegemon USA's regional interests.

He betrayed millions of long-suffering Palestinians, as well as the courage and spirit of Shireen's truth-telling reports and her family, by handing over the Israeli bullet responsible for killing her to the FBI for alleged forensic examination last Saturday.

Yet on Sunday, an Israeli military spokesman said the following:

"The test will not be American."

"The test will be an Israeli test with an American presence throughout."

No matter that the PA was "guarantee(d)" by the Biden regime "that the examination (would) be conducted by them and that the Israeli side will not take part," according to PA general prosecutor Akram al-Khatib. 

According to Al Jazeera, the PA's "decision to hand the bullet over to the US follow(ed) a call between (interventionist) Blinken and (Judas goat) Abbas last week, with US officials (eager to conclude the issue) before (the fake) Biden visits Israel and the occupied West Bank." 

As expected, whitewash followed.

On July 4, the one-sidedly pro-Israel State Department said the following:

"After an extremely detailed forensic analysis (sic)…examiners…could not reach a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet that killed…Shireen (sic)." 

"Ballistic experts determined that the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion (sic)."

The Israeli Bennett regime "was granted full access to" whatever alleged forensic analysis was conducted.

While it was "concluded that gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible for (Shireen's) death," hegemon USA "found no reason to believe that this was intentional but rather the result of tragic circumstances (sic)." 

Once the Israeli bullet responsible for Shireen's death was in US hands, the fix was in to absolve the IDF of willful, cold-blooded murder — a repeat of what's happened countless times before to eliminate other Palestinians.

Commenting on the unacceptable State Department conclusion, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, explained the following:

"What we do know is that units Israel sen(t) to Jenin, the occupied city and refugee camp in the northern West Bank, (were) not infantry or marines."

It sent "special forces." 

"(T)o put it bluntly, (they're IDF) assassination units."

A statement by Shireen's family said the following:

"We will continue to advocate for justice for Shireen, and to hold the Israeli military and government accountable, no matter the attempts to obfuscate the reality of what happened on May 11."

On all things related to apartheid Israel and long-suffering Palestinians, hegemon USA one-sidedly supports the former at the expense of the latter.

It's always been this way since establishment of the Jewish State in May 1948 on stolen Palestinian land.

A Final Comment

Palestinians condemned US/Israeli complicity to absolve Jewish state responsibility for Shireen's murder.

Palestinian National Initiative's secretary general Mustafa Barghouti said the following:

"Two huge mistakes" were made:

"One (is because the PA handed)  the bullet to the" Biden regime.

"The second mistake is by the Americans, who promised that the Israelis w(ould) not do the forensics themselves…(then) passed the bullet to" them to assure the outcome they wanted.

By handling over the fatal bullet to the FBI, the PA virtually signed off on letting "the criminal" Israeli regime investigate itself.

There was no doubt about how things would turn out.

The fatal 5.56mm caliber bullet used by the IDF was designed to  pierce armor.

Used to destroy what it strikes, it virtually killed Shireen on impact.

Once again, accountability is off-the-table for cold-blooded Israeli murder.