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Sweden urges ‘thorough’ investigation into Israel’s killing of Palestinians

Tuesday, 12 January 2016 3:18 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 12 January 2016 3:21 PM ]

Margot Wallstrom, the foreign minister of Sweden

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom has called for a “thorough” investigation into the killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in the past few months.

“It is vital that there is a thorough, credible investigation into these deaths in order to clarify and bring about possible accountability,” Wallstrom said during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday.

The comments come amid the violence in the occupied Palestinian territories in the recent past which have led to the killing of nearly 150 Palestinians.

Hundreds more Palestinians have been injured since October last year, when Israeli forces intensified attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israelis claim most of the Palestinians killed or injured in recent violence are teenagers who stabbed or attempted to stab Israeli forces and settlers. They say 25 Israelis have been killed in the violence which was triggered by the Israeli regime imposing restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in August 2015. The move drew the deep resentment among Palestinians, triggering the recent wave of tensions.

Israeli forces inspect the body of a Palestinian youth who was shot dead by the Tel Aviv regime forces following a reported attack on December 26, 2015, near al-Quds (Jerusalem) (AFP Photo)

The Tel Aviv regime has also increased the number of illegal arbitrary detentions of Palestinians, accusing them of contemplating plans to attack Israeli troops and settler units.

Rights groups said on Monday that at least 14 Palestinians received the so-called administrative sentences and dozens more saw similar sentences renewed.

It said more than 7,000 people are currently behind bars in the Israeli detention centers.

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