Palestinian-American student REFUSES to shake Secretary of State Antony Blinken's hand at Georgetown University's graduation ceremony in protest at 'US support for Israel and the death of Al Jazeera journalist'
- Palestinian-American Nooran Al Hamdan refused to shake Secretary of State Antony Blinken's hand at the Georgetown University graduation on Saturday
- It was part of a student-run protest calling for an independent investigation into the death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, 51
- They are also calling for an end to the United States' aid to Israel following Abu Akleh's death on May 11
- She was shot and killed while covering a raid on the West Bank
- Al Jazeera, the channel she worked for, quickly blamed Israeli security forces for her death, but Israeli forces say it was likely she was killed by Palestinian troops
A Palestinian-American women graduating from Georgetown University was filmed refusing to shake Secretary of State Antony Blinken's hand in an act of protest over the death of an Al Jazeera journalist in the West Bank on May 11th.
In the video posted online, Nooran Al Hamdan, a graduate of the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, could be seen walking up to the podium on Saturday holding up a flag representing the Palestinian people.
As she passed Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who delivered the commencement address at the ceremony, she shakes her head 'no' and declines to extend her hand.
The two appear to exchange words as she continues walking, before shaking the hand of another university official.
In tweets following the ceremony, Al Hamdan said the act was part of a protest calling for an independent investigation into the death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed while reporting during an Israeli raid on the West Bank town of Jenin.
Al Hamdan also called for an end to the United States financial aid for Israel.
Multiple students were pictured holding up signs of Abu Akleh and donning keffiyehs - a checkered black and white scarf that is widely considered a symbol of Palestinian resistance and is often worn as a sign of solidarity with Palestine.
Palestinian-American student IGNORES Blinken at graduation
Nooran Al Hamdan could be seen in footage from the Georgetown University graduation on Saturday refusing to shake Secretary of State Antony Blinken's hand
The move came as Al Hamdan (pictured) called for an independent investigation into the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and an end to American aid to Israel
Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered the commencement speech at this year's Georgetown University graduation ceremony
Al Hamdan tweeted afterwards that she was 'proud to have refused' Blinken's handshake, noting that he came up to her after the ceremony and said "I hear you"
'Myself and my classmates in Arab Studies honored the legacy of Shireen Abu Akleh during Antony Blinken's commencement address,' she tweeted Saturday, adding that she was 'proud to have refused your handshake and to have reminded you of our existence.'
'We demand an independent investigation and an end to American aid to Israel now.
'I relayed those messages to Blinken personally and refused to shake his hand,' she noted, adding that at the end Blinken 'came up to me personally and said "I hear you."
'I reiterated that an independent investigation and accountability for Israel were necessary,' Al Hamdan wrote. 'He walked away when I told him to cut all American aid to the Israeli military.'
By Monday, as video of her snubbing Blinken's handshake went viral, Al Hamdan tweeted: 'Neither myself [nor] my peers have claimed that our action has done anything more than protest Blinken and the policies he upholds, and raise awareness for Shireen/Palestine.
'Comments claiming that we’re acting like we’ve done more than that are in bad faith,' she wrote, adding: 'Our collective silent protest and my own personal decision not to shake Blinken's hand were both the bare minimum in terms of activism and basic principled morality.'
Al Jazeera said Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed while wearing a press vest and helmet during a raid in the West Bank on May 11
As video of her snubbing Blinken went viral, Al Hamdan tweeted that it was the 'bare minimum in terms of activism and basic principled morality' as they called for an investigation into Abu Akleh's death and an end to American aid to Israel
The White House has already condemned the killing of Akleh - who also has United States citizenship.
Earlier this month, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said prosecuting anyone responsible for attacks on journalists was of 'paramount importance.'
'We strongly condemn the killing of Al Jazeera journalist and American citizen Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin today and we extend our deepest condolences to her family,' she said.
'We call for a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances of her death... Investigating attacks on independent media and prosecuting those responsible are of paramount importance.'
State Department spokesman Ned Price has demanded accountability for those responsible.
'We are heartbroken by and strongly condemn the killing of American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank,' he said.
'The investigation must be immediate and thorough and those responsible must be held accountable.
'Her death is an affront to media freedom everywhere.'
Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based broadcaster Abu Akleh worked for, has already blamed Israeli forces for her May 11 death.
In a statement that flashed on its channel, it called on the international community to 'condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for deliberately targeting and assassinating our colleague, Shireen Abu Akleh.'
The Israeli Defense Forces, though, responded that Palestinians, who were firing indiscriminately during the incident, had claimed to have hit someone, yet no IDF soldier was hit.
'She may have been shot by Palestinians,' IDF spokesperson Ran Kochav said. 'She was very close to them. But if soldiers were responsible, we will have to apologize if a mistake was made.'
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett later said it was 'likely' that Palestinian gunfire killed her.
The body of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, lies on the ground while her colleague, Shatha Hanaysheh, covers her mouth in shock as firing continues
A young man attends to Abu Akleh's body after her shooting
'Abu Akleh was wearing a flack jacket so I think she was the person that the Palestinians referred to, but I cannot be 100% sure,' he said.
The Palestinian Authority has also rejected the offer of a joint investigation with Israel.
'I am not sure we will be able to definitively know the truth without their cooperation,' he added.
In video footage of the incident, Abu Akleh can be seen wearing a blue flak jacket clearly marked with the word 'PRESS.'
Journalist Mujahed Al-Saadi, who accompanied Abu Akleh to cover the Jenin raid, told Reuters that they were being 'targeted' by the Israeli army after having identified themselves as press.
'I turned and found Shireen on the ground in the first few seconds. I found Shatha [Hanaysheh] shielding herself by a tree and screaming with the shooting, and we were telling each other we were being shot at,' he said.
'The shooting continued for more than 3 minutes on the teams that were there, Ali was injured, he was able to cross the street and get to a point of safety, and the shooting continued.
'The last person that the sniper saw was taking refuge under a tree, our colleague Shatha Hanaysheh, the shooting towards her continued while she was standing under the tree, and we could not provide first aid to Shireen.
'The boys came to us, the ones that were in the street, who were trying to pull Shireen out, were also shot at, whenever any one moved forward they were shot at.'
Shireen Abu Akleh's press colleague, Shatha Hanaysheh, is consoled by another colleague after the raid on a refugee camp in Jenin, in the north West Bank
Reporter shares agonising moments when colleague is shot dead
The Israeli army confirmed that its forces had carried out an operation in a Jenin refugee camp on Wednesday morning, in a region known to be a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups in the northern West Bank.
It firmly denied, however, that it had deliberately targeted journalists.
'The (army) of course does not aim at journalists,' a military official told AFP. 'There is an ongoing inquiry into this event. We offered and want to conduct a joint investigation with the Palestinians.'
The army said that during its operation in the camp, 'massive fire was shot toward Israeli forces by tens of armed Palestinian gunmen'.
People in the camp 'also hurled explosive devices toward the soldiers, endangering their lives. The soldiers responded with fire toward the sources of the fire and explosive devices. Hits were identified.'
The Israeli Foreign Ministry put out a short video on Twitter of IDF soldiers firing and a text over reading: 'Palestinian terrorists, firing indiscriminately, are likely to have hit Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla'.
'Journalists must be protected in conflict zones and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth,' said Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
FOLLOW 6IX WORLD NEWS HERE