News / Palestine

UN condemns 'immoral execution' of Palestinian

Friday, 25 March 2016 10:07 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 25 March 2016 12:47 PM ]

Israeli soldiers cover the body of a Palestinian who was shot in the head by a soldier as he lay wounded on the ground in al-Khalil (Hebron) on March 24, 2016. (AFP photo)

The United Nations has denounced “the apparent extrajudicial execution” of a Palestinian by Israeli forces in the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron) on Thursday.

"This was a gruesome, immoral and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation," the United Nations’ special envoy to the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, said Friday.

On Thursday, the human rights group, B'tselem, released graphic footage taken by one of its members after two Palestinian youths were shot over allegedly stabbing an Israeli soldier earlier in the day.

In the video, an Israeli soldier was caught shooting a wounded Palestinian, lying on the ground, in the head after he was shot injured by Israeli forces. The second Palestinian succumbed to his wounds after being denied medical aid by the Israeli soldiers.

The wounded Israeli was transferred to a hospital in al-Quds (Jerusalem) with minor stab wounds in the shoulder and hand.

Israel claims to have detained the soldier and launched an investigation into the incident.

Mladenov urged Israeli authorities to “swiftly bring to justice the perpetrator who has already been detained.”

The Tel Aviv regime's latest atrocity was also condemned by Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa director, Philip Luther, who said the shooting could easily be deemed as a war crime.

Palestinian Health Minister Jawad Awwad also echoed Luther’s remarks, calling the incident a "war crime.” He also noted that even before to the shooting, medics were not treating the gravely injured man.

Al-Khalil, the largest West Bank city, has witnessed escalated tensions between some 200,000 Palestinians and several hundred Israelis living in illegal settlements under heavy military guard.

Tensions have heightened in the occupied territories since August 2015, when Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

At least 208 Palestinians, including children and women, have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since the beginning of last October.

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