The Palestinian Authority underlined the need to provide international protection for the Palestinian people who were lately exposed to a series of field executions and continuous crimes by Israeli soldiers.
Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, sent on Friday three identical letters to the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council President for this month (India) and the UN President of the General Assembly.
He appealed for urgent action to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people from the Israeli occupier. Mansour also mentioned that while the international community gathered on November 29 to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Israel, the occupying power, affirmed its rejection of peace and its persecution of the people, and its determination to continue its gross violations of international law.
Mansour then shed light on the series of field executions carried out by Israel against several Palestinian youths during the past week.
Two brothers were killed by Israeli fire during clashes with troops near the village of Kafr Ein, west of Ramallah in the northern West Bank early Tuesday. The Palestinian news agency Wafa identified them as Jawad and Dhafr Rimawi, 22 and 21.
Also, in separate attacks, Israeli soldiers killed Mufid Khalil, 44, from the city of Hebron, Mohammed Badraneh, 26, from Jenin, Muhammad Ayman al-Saadi, 26, and Naim Jamal Zubaidi, 27, from the Jenin camp.
Mansour’s letter also shed light on the killing of Ammar Mefleh, 27, in the town of Hawwara, near Nablus.
Video footage showed a member of the Israeli occupation forces shooting Mefleh at point-blank following a scuffle in the northern West Bank town and leaving him bleeding to death. The scene drove wide Palestinian anger.
Mansour stressed that “expressing anger and denouncing Israel’s crimes and impunity is not enough. It must be accompanied by firm action in accordance with international law.”
PA President Mahmoud Abbas said the continued international silence, impunity and lack of accountability have encouraged the Israeli governments to commit more crimes against the Palestinian people.
“These crimes that have become an official policy for the successive Israeli governments require urgent intervention to provide international protection for the defenseless Palestinian people,” he said.
Reacting to the Israeli killing of Mefleh, the European Union said it was gravely concerned about Israel's excessive use of lethal force against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
“Gravely concerned about the increasing level of violence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem," the EU said in a tweet.
It referred to the Israeli army killing of 10 Palestinians in the last 72 hours alone, “in what appears to be an excessive use of lethal force.” The EU added that 2022 is the deadliest year since 2006, with 140 Palestinians killed.
“According to international law, use of lethal force is strictly limited to situations in which there exists a serious and imminent threat to life and limb. Civilian casualties must be investigated and accountability ensured,” the EU noted.
