UN: Israel’s execution of wounded Palestinian gruesome, unjust

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A UN official on Friday condemned in the strongest terms the brutal "extrajudicial execution" of a wounded Palestinian by an Israeli soldier that was captured on camera in Hebron the day before. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said he strongly condemned the apparent "extrajudicial execution" of the Palestinian, who was shot in the head at point-blank range despite having already been shot to the ground, where he lay wounded for several minutes, after allegedly stabbing an Israeli soldier.

"This was a gruesome, immoral, and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation," Mladenov said.

He welcomed the condemnation of the execution by Israel’s Minister of Defense, Moshe Yaalon, and called on the Israeli authorities to "swiftly bring to justice" the Israeli soldier responsible.

The UN official went on: "It is time to stop the negative spiral of violence and to begin positive steps towards ending the occupation and bringing long overdue peace and security to the people of Israel and Palestine."

Israel has repeatedly been accused by rights groups, international leaders, and Palestinian officials of enacting a policy of "extrajudicial executions" against Palestinians since a wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel last October.

However, the rare video footage of Thursday's incident -- captured by a staff member with Israeli human rights group B’Tselem -- brought a barrage of condemnations from the Israeli leadership and led Israel's army to detain the soldier responsible and launch an investigation. more

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