The journalists were covering cross-border fire between the Lebanese political and paramilitary group Hezbollah and Israeli forces—armed with diplomatic and weapons support from the Biden administration and Congress—during the early stages of a retaliatory assault on the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip for which Israel is now on trial for genocide.
The lawmakers' letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Attorney General Merrick Garland came as Israel continued its war on Gaza and ramped up the operation against its northern neighbor, killing civilians and endangering peacekeepers with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"Mr. Collins deserves better from his own government."
In addition to Collins' members of Congress—Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.)—the letter is signed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
"To date, Mr. Collins has received no explanation for the attack, and there have been no steps toward accountability," the letter states, taking aim at Israel's leader. "Given the inaction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, the United States must open an independent investigation into this incident."
The journalists were "clearly marked as press and had selected an open and highly visible position on a hilltop near the Blue Line to minimize the risk of misidentification," the lawmakers wrote. "The group was clearly visible to several Israeli military positions, as well as to an Israeli Apache helicopter and drone circling overhead. There were no Hezbollah positions in the vicinity. The group had been filming from the position for close to an hour when, despite these precautions, they were struck twice by Israeli tank rounds, followed by a sustained burst of .50 caliber heavy machine gun fire."
"Six rigorous investigations—by UNIFIL, Reuters, AFP, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)—have all independently corroborated these details, based on video footage and multiple firsthand accounts, and concluded that it was an unlawful attack on civilians," they noted.
Referencing the Vermont delegation's May
missive about Collins' case, the lawmakers highlighted that "in its June 27 response to our earlier letter, the State Department relied heavily on these investigations, indicating that the department finds them credible."
The new letter continues:
Unfortunately, this incident is part of a wider pattern of disregard by the Israeli military for the safety of civilians, including journalists and humanitarian aid workers. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 116 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli military strikes since October 7, 2023, an unprecedented number. The United Nations reports that 173 journalists and media workers have been killed, as well as 228 United Nations staff.
It is painfully obvious that the United States cannot rely on the Netanyahu government to ensure accountability for these attacks. For many years, the Israeli authorities have failed to investigate or account for attacks on journalists.
"We call on the U.S. government to immediately open an independent, impartial, comprehensive, and transparent investigation led by the Department of Justice into the attack," the lawmakers wrote. "This investigation is necessary to confirm the details of the attack, secure an explanation as to why it was carried out, identify those responsible throughout the chain of command, and hold to account those who ordered and executed the attack."
"Mr. Collins has done his part," the members of Congress added, detailing how he has met with various U.S. officials and provided video footage of the attack. "Mr. Collins deserves better from his own government."
They also emphasized the attack's relevance to the billions of dollars in security assistance that the U.S. gives Netanyahu's government, writing that "this is particularly important as the United States Congress considers joint resolutions of disapproval regarding the sale of additional arms to Israel, including 32,739 more 120mm tank cartridges, the same kind of tank rounds used against Mr. Collins and his journalist colleagues (and numerous other strikes on civilians)."
The Sanders-led letter came a day after McGovern and 64 other House Democrats called on Biden and Blinken to "take immediate action to advocate for unrestricted, independent media access" to Gaza.
The Monday coalition stressed that the "effective ban on foreign reporting has placed an overwhelming burden on local journalists who are documenting the war they are living through. Tragically, at least 130 journalists have lost their lives since the start of the war, and those who remain face conditions of extreme hardship and danger."
Also on Monday,
Zeteo exclusively reported that Justice Department attorneys have sent a letter to Garland, urging him to "investigate potential violations of U.S. law by Israel's government, military, and citizenry, and hold the perpetrators to account."
Specifically, according to Zeteo, they want to probe Israeli citizens and soldiers killing U.S. citizens—including Ayşenur Eygi, Kamel Ahmad Jawad, Jacob Flickinger, Tawfiq Abdel Jabbar, Mohammad Khdour, Omar Assad, and Shireen Abu Akleh—as well as Israel's illegal settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and proof of troops committing war crimes and engaging in torture.
