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Shireen Abu Akleh: [foreign language]

Melissa Harris-Perry: This is The Takeaway, and I'm Melissa Harris-Perry. You just heard the late Shireen Abu Akleh, Al Jazeera's legendary correspondent known for her impassioned reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the morning of May 11th, Abu Akleh, who had dual Palestinian-American citizenship was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers while reporting on raids that were being conducted by the Israeli defense forces or IDF in the occupied West Bank.

Shireen Abu Akleh: [foreign language]

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Melissa Harris-Perry: That was her final sign-off. The last report she filed told the story of Palestinians displaced by Israelis in the 1948 mass expulsion, referred to by Palestinians as The Nakba. May 15th, 2022 marked 74 years since the Nakba, but Shireen Abu Akleh did not live to see that day. Palestinian officials have said that the Israeli soldiers intentionally killed her, a claim Israel has denied.

Investigations by the United Nations, the New York Times, and CNN all found that no armed Palestinians were firing at the Israeli soldiers at the time they shot and killed Abu Akleh. For May 26 report, CNN's Katie Polglase spoke with several people who were at the scene when Abu Akleh was killed.

Katie Polglase: Shatha Hanaysha has become a key eyewitness to the May 11th shooting of Abu Akleh. She and eight others present told CNN it was the Israel Defense Forces that shot her and that they thought it was deliberate.

Shatha Hanaysha: I think they want to kill us. This is why they shoot. I don't have another reason why they shoot and they know that we are journalists.

Melissa Harris-Perry: In the weeks and months after Abu Akleh's death, at least 83 members of Congress pressured the United States government to launch its own independent investigation into the killing of this American citizen. Instead, the department reviewed investigations conducted by Israeli and Palestinian officials and found them inconclusive.

In a July 4th letter, the US State Department spokesman, Ned Price, claimed that due to a damaged bullet examiners believed it was likely that it was fired by the IDF but could not come to a "definitive conclusion". Price also said--

Ned Price: The USSC found no reason to believe that this was intentional, but rather the result of tragic circumstances.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Members of Abu Akleh's family have called the State Department letter a whitewashing of her killing. This week, some of her relatives met with US officials in Washington D.C. to advocate for more action in response to the killing. On Tuesday, they met with Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. I spoke with Shireen Abu Akleh's niece, Lina.

Lina Abu Akleh: We are doing fine. It's still very difficult to comprehend this entire tragedy. Mentally, emotionally, it's been exhausting, to say the least. We are hanging in there, we're pushing, and we're hoping there will be justice.

Melissa Harris-Perry: After the State Department released its findings, a group of four Senate Democrats wrote a blistering letter to Secretary Blinken saying, "This does not meet any plausible definition of the independent investigation you and members of Congress have called for nor does it provide the transparency that this case demands." They ask for documentation and clarification on 13 points relating to the department's inquiry into Abu Akleh's death, and I asked Lina to elaborate.

Lina Abu Akleh: Some of the questions that were raised regarding the so-called investigation that the US State Department conducted, first, again, it was not an investigation, it was merely a report. We were not satisfied, neither were all the members of the Senate who signed on to this letter. Some of the questions were around this report whether as in who conducted the so-called investigation, will there be a credible and transparent investigation as Mr. Blinken had told us, and other questions regarding the intentionality, what are the next steps. These are some of the important questions that we continue to raise while being here, and we're still waiting for these questions to be answered.

Melissa Harris-Perry: You did meet on Tuesday with Secretary of State Blinken, did he directly address any of these questions?

Lina Abu Akleh: We asked a lot of questions. However, we did not receive any clear answers. Mr. Blinken, he reiterated the same points, the same statements that were conveyed to us prior. There were no commitments, no promises made, and I feel like I personally left the meeting with so many questions that continues to remain unanswered. That's why we hope that this isn't something they crossed off their agenda since there were no promises, no commitments.

If this was just that, if this was just for PR purposes, then it's still disappointing. It's honestly a bit embarrassing, to say the least. We were glad that he committed to be more transparent with us moving forward, but it's been over two months, we need answers, we need to know if there were any US weapons involved in the killing of my aunt, if the taxpayer money that's been funding this. If part of my taxpayer money has been also part of this murder, we need answers and I'm sure other American citizens are looking for answers. We need to know, we need there to be more transparency.

Melissa Harris-Perry: The grief and the-- Tell me if I'm wrong in this framework, with the grief and the anger that I hear for you is very familiar to me, especially when you talk about taxpayer dollars and bullets paid for potentially by taxpayer dollars having killed your beloved. It is a pain well-known in Black communities when there are police shootings. That point about Shireen, your aunt, being an American citizen, do all American lives matter similarly?

Lina Abu Akleh: Unfortunately from our case, it seems like no, it seems like if there's Palestinian before that if it's Palestinian American citizen, then we are not in the same category as other American citizens, which is very unfortunate, it's very sad. Just because she was killed in Palestine, just because she was also Palestinian should not mean an exception, she shouldn't be treated differently.

This is the unfortunate reality that we are living in, and this is something that needs to be changed. At the end of the day, she was a human being regardless of what's her origin, what's her ethnicity. She was a human being who was killed doing her job. There shouldn't be discrimination with that, she should be treated the same, and the standards need to be changed.

Melissa Harris-Perry: The State Department earlier this month did release a statement to spokesperson Ned Price of the US government investigation, "Could not reach a definitive conclusion." Your family has said, "This is an affront to justice." This inability to reach a definitive conclusion, why is this so problematic?

Lina Abu Akleh: It's very problematic because that was damaging to the truth. It contradicted multiple news investigative reports and most importantly, the UN's report showing clear evidence, showing the truth that Shireen was intentionally targeted and killed. We raised this question actually in our meeting yesterday with Secretary Blinken, and we asked, how were they not able-- They stated that the bullet couldn't have-- it was so damaged and they weren't able to determine that if it was intentional or not.

We asked this yesterday, and he told us that, "Oh, we were not able to determine intent." It contradicts their entire statement, you cannot determine intent by the bullet. There are however multiple other evidences clearly showing that she was targeted. We felt that statement was, in a way, covering up the story, covering up the truth, and trying to close the entire case. It was very damaging to us, and it was, quite frankly, embarrassing that they would release something like this, regarding one of their own citizens.

Melissa Harris-Perry: President Biden declined to meet with members of your family during a recent trip to Israel, wondering if you have a message to President Biden.

Lina Abu Akleh: Yes, we were hoping we would meet with the President back home. However, it was unfortunate when we were not given that opportunity, considering that Palestine, Jerusalem is Shireen's homeland. She was born and raised there. Also, it's a place where she spent her entire life working there, and unfortunately, it's the place where she was killed.

We still continue to request to meet with the President, so he can hear from us, and hear our own concerns directly, and most importantly, to learn what their next steps is going to be. Our message would be that we hope that they take this case seriously. We hope that the President takes time to listen from us, to hear from us, and to carry out a independent US-led investigation that is transparent and credible. That's all that we're asking for. We're asking for justice and accountability.

Melissa Harris-Perry: You said, your aunt, Shireen was a human being. Can you tell me about her?

Lina Abu Akleh: Yes. Shireen was, apart from being a journalist, she was a human being. She was very funny behind camera. She was the cool and fun, and most importantly, she was very empathetic. She was very compassionate. That's what made her stand out as a journalist. She was someone I've looked up to ever since I was a kid. Growing up, I wanted to be like her. I would copy her infamous sign-off, along with so many other young Palestinians growing up watching her, we would all say like, "Shireen Abu Akleh, AlJazeera, Palestine." That was her infamous sign-off.

For me, she was a role model. She was an icon that I grew up wanting to be like her. Other than that, she was my best friend. This has been a very difficult tragedy, not just for the world of journalists and entire nation of Palestine and the world, but even for me as her niece and as her close friend. I've lost someone that I've trusted, I lost someone that was my companion, and it's very, very difficult. We were supposed to be in the US together right now. That was our plan to travel. We had a lot of future plans together and that's all been shattered now by just that one bullet that changed our entire lives forever.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Aunty is a revered and honored role. It's one I love, and as I listen to you as her nice, I just want to extend how much I am very sorry for your very real loss. Lina Abu Akleh, thank you for your time.

Lina Abu Akleh: Thank you for having me. Thank you.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Secretary Blinken tweeted late Tuesday saying, "Today I met with the family of slain Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, whose fearless journalism earned her the respect of audiences around the world. I express my deepest condolences and commitment to pursue accountability for her tragic killing.

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