US National Press Club Honors Slain Palestinian-American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American  journalist for Al Jazeera who was shot and killed while she was reporting on an Israel Defense Forces arrest raid in Jenin in the West Bank on May 11, was honored posthumously by the National Press Club in Washington DC. Akleh was awarded the National Press Club President’s Award honoring her contribution to journalism during Wednesday’s dinner event. Abu Akleh’s nice, Lina Abu Akleh, accepted the award on her aunt’s behalf. She called on the US to launch an independent investigation. “Justice for Shireen is linked to justice for Palestinians,” Lina said. “We have expected from the US president to take the case seriously as in similar cases. But we will never relent. We will bring justice for Shireen.” National Press Club President Jen Judson told Al Jazeera that the Club decided to give the President’s Award to Abu Akleh because of her “courage and legacy.” The US State Department announced in July that its examination of the bullet that killed Abu Akleh to determine who fired the deadly shot was inconclusive, but that investigations by both the Israel Defense Forces and The Palestinian Authority show that “gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh.” The PA also claims that Israeli troops deliberately shot Abu Akleh. The State Department also has said that it found no reason to believe the killing was intentional, as the family alleges.