Sun 04 December 2022:
After a missile landed in southern Israel, Israeli airplanes bombed locations in the Gaza Strip, raising tensions in the occupied West Bank, where 10 Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli forces since last week.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the Israeli military claimed the airstrikes in the early hours of Sunday targeted a Hamas weapons factory and an underground tunnel.
The rocket, reportedly the first fired in a month, reportedly fell in a field close to Israel’s separation fence on Saturday night without causing any deaths or property damage, according to the Israeli military. No one has claimed responsibility for the rocket.
The airstrike on Gaza comes in response to outrage over the point-blank shooting of a young Palestinian man, Ammar Mufleh, 23, by an Israeli soldier on Friday in broad daylight, which was caught on camera. The horrifying video has caused widespread outrage among Palestinians and demands for escalating resistance against Israeli occupation on social media.
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the shooting of Mufleh as tantamount to an execution, and Palestinian activists and social media users are using the hashtag “Huwara Execution” in Arabic, calling for a response to crimes by Israeli forces.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said on Friday that he was horrified by the scene of an Israeli soldier killing a Palestinian in the West Bank town of Hawara, near Nablus.
“Horrified by today’s killing of a Palestinian man, Ammar Mefleh, during a scuffle with an Israeli soldier near [the town of] Hawara in the occupied West Bank,” he Wennesland in a tweet.
The UN coordinator added, “Such incidents must be fully and promptly investigated, and those responsible held accountable.”
Horrified by today’s killing of a Palestinian man, Ammar Mifleh, during a scuffle with an Israeli soldier near Huwarra in the o. West Bank. My heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family. Such incidents must be fully & promptly investigated, & those responsible held accountable.
— Tor Wennesland (@TWennesland) December 2, 2022
EU calls for ‘accountability’
On Saturday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, also reacted to the latest Israeli killing of Palestinians.
He said the EU was “greatly concerned” about increased violence in the West Bank, including the killing of the 22-year-old Palestinian by Israeli occupation forces.
“The killing of a 22-year-old Palestinian on Friday by Israeli security forces was the latest example of the recent uptick in violence,” Borrell said, adding, “Under international law, lethal force is only justified in situations in which there exists a serious and imminent threat to life.”
Borrell called for an investigation into the tragic incident and for full accountability.
On Friday, the European Union voiced deep concern over Israel’s use of lethal force against Palestinians, amid a surge in violence in the occupied territories.
At least 207 Palestinians killed in the occupied territories of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and East Jerusalem so far this year.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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