JERUSALEM – In a bid to curb an ongoing wave of knife, gun and car-ramming attacks against Israeli citizens, Israeli security forces have used excessive force and may have carried out summary executions, UN experts claimed on Monday.
“Cases of excessive use of force by Israeli forces against Palestinians, including some which appear to amount to summary executions, continue to be reported,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territories, Makarim Wibisono, and an expert on summary executions, Christof Heyns. Both men called for an “end to the violence by all and strict compliance with international law.”
Israeli authorities have resumed demolitions of suspects’ homes, a controversial measure that acts as a deterrent against terror. Serious confrontations have flared up as a result of these demolitions, but AFP reported that they are rarely as deadly as Monday’s clash in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank.
Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians after hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at security forces, while some opened fire.
In response, UN experts said, “We urge the authorities to carry out independent, thorough, prompt, and impartial investigations into all suspected cases of extra-judicial, arbitrary, and summary executions, and to provide compensation to the victims or their families.”
AFP reported that the majority of Palestinians who have been killed in the recent wave of violence were shot after carrying out or attempting to carry out an attack.