UN rights office 'extremely concerned' about killing of Palestinian man in West Bank

 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it is extremely concerned about the apparent extra-judicial execution last Thursday of a Palestinian man in the West Bank.

Two Palestinian men allegedly stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron on Thursday morning, and were both shot during the attack. A video later emerged appearing to show one of the alleged Palestinian assailants, subsequently identified as Abd al-Fatah al-Sharif, lying injured but still alive on the ground. Medical staff were shown attending to the wounded soldier, who was driven away in an ambulance, but did not appear to offer any medical assistance to Mr. al-Sharif, OHCHR said in a statement.

''The video then shows an Israeli soldier shooting Mr. al-Sharif in the head, killing him. What is particularly chilling is the way none of the 20 or so people at the scene, including medical personnel, appear to pay any attention to the wounded man while he was still alive, and also barely show any reaction in the immediate aftermath of his killing,'' said Rupert Colville, the Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a media statement.

"We would also like to remind the Israeli authorities of their duty to protect the man who filmed the incident from the roof of a nearby building. Some reports say he and his family are being intimidated, and he has even been threatened with legal action. As a key eyewitness to the killing, he should be protected from any reprisals," Mr. Colville stressed.

In a separate statement, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, expressed his outrage at the incident, saying: "The images shown carry all the signs of a clear case of an extrajudicial execution [ ] there does not appear to be any provocation on the side of the gravely wounded man."

Source:WAM