Palestinian journalists wear 'Justice for Shireen' T-shirts as Biden visits West Bank

Palestinian journalists covering President Joe Biden’s visit to the occupied West Bank are wearing black T-shirts bearing the image of slain Palestinian-American correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh.

The popular Al-Jazeera correspondent was killed in May while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank.

The Palestinians, including colleagues who were with her, say that Israeli soldiers intentionally killed her. Israel says its troops were in a battle with Palestinian gunmen, and it’s not clear who fired the deadly bullet.

U.S. experts who inspected the bullet recently determined that Israeli fire likely killed her. But without providing evidence, they said there was no reason to believe the shooting was intentional. The findings have infuriated the Palestinians, including Abu Akleh’s family. The black T-shirts worn by journalists in Bethlehem, saying “Justice for Shireen,” were meant as a sign of solidarity with their slain colleague.

Biden was headed to the biblical town of Bethlehem to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Biden has announced hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance to the Palestinians. But Palestinians are disappointed that there are no plans for a diplomatic initiative to promote the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.