Follow us on social

Shireen_abu_akleh_6

Reports: FBI investigating death of Palestinian-American journalist

The new probe comes amid a spike in tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv following the rise of far-right leaders in Israel.

Middle East

Reports say that the FBI has opened an investigation into the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli soldiers last May while covering an Israeli raid in Jenin, a major city in the occupied West Bank.

The revelation, which was first reported by Israel’s Channel 14 and confirmed by Axios, emerged after American officials notified Tel Aviv’s Justice Ministry of the investigation. Neither the Department of Justice nor the FBI have yet confirmed the existence of the probe.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has helped lead the charge for accountability for Abu Akleh’s death, praised the FBI’s decision, calling it “an overdue but necessary and important step in the pursuit of justice and accountability.”

The unprecedented move could open Israeli soldiers to U.S. legal liability for any involvement in the killing, a fact that will surely add to brewing tensions between the Biden administration and the incoming government of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is expected to include several ministers from a far-right, Jewish supremacist party.

One such member, Itamar Ben-Gvir, will likely take over as minister of public security in a Netanyahu government. Ben-Gvir’s likely appointment has drawn significant backlash given his history of support for Jewish extremists, including the perpetrator of a 1994 terrorist attack on a mosque in Hebron that left 29 worshippers dead and 125 injured.

Even Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a strong supporter of U.S.-Israel ties, has reportedly warned Israeli officials that making Ben-Gvir a minister would damage the relationship between the two countries.

The FBI investigation comes after US and Israeli officials separately determined that Abu Akleh had most likely been killed by a stray Israeli bullet. A range of activists and politicians have fought that conclusion, with some arguing that soldiers may have intentionally killed the prominent Palestinian journalist. 

Notably, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has previously threatened that Abu Akleh’s killing could imperil Washington’s massive annual military aid to Tel Aviv. “Unfortunately, there has been no independent, credible investigation,” Leahy said in September, adding that there is “a history of investigations of shootings by IDF soldiers that rarely result in accountability.”

A number of questions remain about the investigation. As Jamil Dakwar of the ACLU noted on Twitter, it remains “unclear if Israeli authorities would fully cooperate with the FBI,” which could complicate efforts to reach a definitive conclusion about why and how Abu Akleh was shot.


Slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh (via Al Jazeera/ CC-BY-SA-4.0)
Middle East
USS Carl Vinson
Top image credit: 250410-N-FS097-1573 U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (April 10, 2025) An F-35C Lightning II, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 97, launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) during flight operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (Official U.S. Navy photo)

Deterrence or creep? US forces quietly surge back to Middle East

Middle East

Since October 7, 2023, the United States has quietly but significantly expanded its military presence across the Middle East, reversing the drawdown that followed its withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

U.S. troop numbers in the region have risen from approximately 34,000 to nearly 50,000 as of late 2024, a level not seen since the height of the anti-ISIS campaign, in addition to a rapid increase in naval and aerial deployments. This shift reflects a strategic recalibration that appears driven less by long-term planning than by an improvised response to perceived Iranian threats, instability in the Red Sea, and domestic political pressure to “do something” without committing to a full-scale conflict.

keep readingShow less
Donald Trump
Top image credit: President Donald Trump speaks to the media following the White House Easter Egg Roll in Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2025. President Trump speaks about Secretary of Defense Hegseth, the Pope's death, and the situation in Ukraine and Iran. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto) VIA REUTERS

Ukraine and Europe can't afford to refuse Trump's peace plan

Europe

Most of the peace plan for Ukraine now sketched out by the Trump administration is not new, is based on common sense, and has indeed already been tacitly accepted by Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that its army has no chance in the foreseeable future of reconquering the territories now occupied by Russia. Vice President J.D. Vance’s statement that the U.S. plan would “freeze the territorial lines…close to where they are today” simply acknowledges an obvious fact.

keep readingShow less
Michael O'Hanlon, Jack Keane, Michele Flournoy
Top photo credit: Michael O’Hanlon (DoD Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann), Ret. General Jack Keane (White House photo) and Michele Flournoy (CNAS/Flickr)

Could a Blobby enclave be sowing chaos at DoD?

Military Industrial Complex

UPDATE 4/24, 5:15 PM: The Defense Policy Board website has been scrubbed, as reported by The Intercept. The list of DPB members can still be viewed on an archived version of the website.


Discussing alleged Pentagon leaks with Tucker Carlson on Monday, recently ousted DoD official and Iraq war veteran Dan Caldwell charged that there are a number of career staff in the Pentagon who oppose the current administration’s policies. He then took particular aim at the the Defense Policy Board as a potential source of ongoing leaks to the press.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.