Eight Republican senators in the US Senate condemned the decision of the FBI and the Department of Justice to open an investigation into the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Sherine Abu Aqleh, and called in a letter addressed to US Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Director of the FBI Christopher Wray said: "Given the results of the multiple competent investigations into Abu Aqleh, we are confident that Israel did its part, as an ally of the United States, to determine the circumstances of her tragic death."
The eight Republicans are Senators Marco Rubio (Florida), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Ted Cruz (Texas), Rick Scott (Florida), Josh Hawley (Indiana), Mike Brown (Indiana) and Tom Cotton (Arkansas) and James Lankford (Missouri), to close the investigation immediately "before harming bilateral relations between the United States and Israel," according to their claim.
"In light of this, we are dismayed that the Department of Justice and the FBI are seeking to disregard Israeli sovereignty by inserting themselves into a completed investigation in which US officials were involved," they said.
The eight members, all from the political right backed by evangelicals who believe Israel should keep the West Bank they call "Judea and Samaria" to ensure the return of the Messiah, claim they have taken the "unprecedented and unilateral action" after what the Israeli military, independent third-party experts and the Americans did. By their own investigations, they were unable to find out who was at fault. They added that the internal investigation of the Israeli army, after months, was unable to determine the source of the bullet.
The eight members criticized the FBI´s move, which was taken without prior notification of the decision by US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nedis, as "totally unacceptable and a breakdown in internal coordination between the agencies," echoing Cruz´s earlier claims that the investigation was another example of overreach. Department of Justice and the FBI.
The aforementioned FBI decision, which was revealed to the media (in the Israeli press) on November 15, was considered a milestone in the relationship between the United States and Israel, after prominent Democrats pressured President Biden´s administration to take a firm stance regarding the investigation into the murder of the American journalist. Abu-Aqleh, who has consistently dismissed Israeli investigations as insufficient because they lack transparency, citing videos and independent investigations released by leading international media outlets, such as the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN.
Democrats also rejected the Biden administration´s arguments that the intervention of the US security coordinator was sufficient and that pressuring Israel to review its rules of engagement constitutes accountability, and insisted that the US has a legal and moral obligation to conduct an independent investigation of its own, including whether the killing violated US law. Ocean. military aid.
The Democratic effort was led by Senator Chris Van Hollen (R-Maryland), who told Israeli media last month that he would continue his push amid the FBI investigation. "We live in a world where people say things and expect everyone to forget. Accountability here at home requires that we hold Management is responsible for the statements they made as well. And we will continue to do so."
