March 27, 2025 01:57 pm (IST)
Follow us:
UN condemns killing of Palestinian teenagers in West Bank
New York, May 24 (IBNS): The United Nations human rights chief has voiced her "very serious concerns" about a recent incident involving the killing of two Palestinian teenagers in the occupied West Bank.
Navi Pillay has written to the Israeli Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva concerning the 15 May incident, her spokesperson Cécile Pouilly told reporters in the Swiss city.
Israeli security forces allegedly shot and killed the two Palestinian minors – aged 16 and 17 – taking part in a demonstration in Beituniya commemorating the 66th anniversary of what Palestinians call “Nakba day.”
The initial findings of a team on the ground from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) indicate that the teenagers presented no direct threat at the time that they were killed.
“The killings may amount to extrajudicial executions under human rights law as well as wilful killings under international humanitarian law,” said Pouilly.
She stated that while OHCHR welcomes reports that an investigation into the incident has been opened, it called for the probe to be “prompt, thorough, effective, independent, impartial and transparent.”
“We also urge Israel to make public the findings of this investigation and any steps regarding accountability that are taken.”
OHCHR noted that the killing comes amid a series of incidents involving the excessive use of force by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, as reported in the High Commissioner’s last report to the Human Rights Council.
“Our Office has repeatedly raised its concerns about the excessive use of force by Israeli security forces and the lack of accountability for such incidents,” Pouilly said, adding that any use of force by the Israelis must be in accordance with the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms.
(Cécile Pouilly, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Photo: OHCHR)
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
UN data shows a record 2514 migrants died in 2024 in Asia
Wed, Mar 26 2025
South Sudan on the brink of civil war, warns top UN official
Tue, Mar 25 2025
Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal attacked, arrested In West Bank, claims co-directors
Tue, Mar 25 2025
Yemen: US airstrike on residential building in Sanaa kills 1
Mon, Mar 24 2025
Gaza: Israel strikes Nasser Hospital, senior Hamas leader killed
Mon, Mar 24 2025