UN slams gruesome killing of Palestinian

JERUSALEM: The UN condemned on Friday the “gruesome” killing of a wounded Palestinian assailant by an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank, after a video of the death spread widely online.
“I strongly condemn yesterday’s apparent extra-judicial execution of a Palestinian assailant in Hebron in the occupied West Bank,” UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov said.
“This was a gruesome, immoral and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation.” He called on the Israeli authorities to “swiftly bring to justice” the alleged perpetrator.
The Israeli army on Thursday arrested a soldier caught on video shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay on the ground after stabbing another soldier, his knife lying beyond his reach.
Separately, the Palestinian government has hailed the decision by the UN to establish a database of companies working in Israeli settlements, a ruling that Israel called an “absurdity.”
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted four motions on the Palestinian territories, including one calling for the establishment of a list of companies operating from settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Ibrahim Khreisheh, Palestinian envoy to the UNHRC, called the vote a “message of hope for our people.”
“Israel continues to systematically violate the inalienable rights of the Palestinians while enjoying impunity from the international community.” he added.