JULY 4 is an important day for the United States as it marks the country's 246 years of independence from a distant British king. But breaking free from Israel seems very hard to do for the US.
Tel Aviv murders, Washington absolves. This pattern would be repeated over 74 years. Ironically, the latest absolution of Israel's murder — the brutal killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 — was announced by the US State Department to the whole nation on July 4.
The gist of the message was the gunfire from Israel Defence Forces was "likely" to have caused the death of Akleh, but it wasn't "intentional". It was "rather a result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led military operation".
The State Department's pick of the date of announcement is no accident. July 4 is when the nation is on a break, including a break from news. This is no ordinary pick, but one done at the highest of levels.
The statement may bear the name of the department's spokesman, Ned Price, but it reads like it was crafted in Tel Aviv and Washington. The first sentence is telling. "After an extremely detailed forensic analysis, independent, third-party examiners, as part of a process overseen by the US Security Coordinator, could not reach a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh." If ever there was a murder that was put in doubt this early in a statement, Akleh's killing by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) must be it.
If this wasn't enough, the second sentence buried the evidence for good: "Ballistic experts determined the bullet was badly damaged, which prevented a clear conclusion." This focus on the bullet has been Tel Aviv's deflection strategy from day one. First, Israel claimed that the bullet that killed Akleh was from "Palestinian terrorists".
Never mind if the Al Jazeera journalist was in Jenin to cover the IDF's raid on Palestinian homes. Never mind, too, other journalists had come forward to say there weren't any "Palestinian terrorists" there on May 11.
Hence the need for the "extremely detailed forensic analysis" by "independent, third-party examiners" of the first sentence. Clever crafting, we must say.
But justice isn't buried that easily. Israel and the US may think no one other than the family of Akleh and Al Jazeera are interested in the killer being brought to justice.
Israel and the US can't be more wrong. Journalists around the world want justice done. Murder she may not have written, but The Washington Post, The New York Times and a few more publications did. So did the United Nations. IDF bullets rained even when Akleh's fellow journalists tried rendering her help. If the brutal murder were a result of "tragic circumstances", why the clinical sniper shot to the head and the rain of bullets afterwards? Akleh's loved ones, too, are demanding nothing less than justice.
A letter sent to US President Joe Biden on Friday, the full text of which was disclosed by Al Jazeera, called the latest American effort an attempt "to whitewash Shireen's killing and perpetuate the impunity" of Israeli forces.
They have called on Biden to withdraw the statement. He won't do that. He can't. The US isn't really independent. Israel has killed many Americans and got away with it. The US is making sure it will do it again this time.