presidency and the prime minister yesterday condemned the Israeli settler’s stabbing to death of a Palestinian man in the north of the West Bank.
A settler yesterday stabbed Ali Harb, 27, in the heart in the village of Iskaka, near Salfit, killing him. After his stabbing, soldiers in the area, who protected the settlers, prevented Palestinians from attending to Harb for one hour, causing him to bleed to death while on the ground, according to Harb’s cousin, who was with him at the time. The settler is still at large.
“This heinous crime confirms the ugliness of the occupation, whether its soldiers or settlers, and its crimes against our defenseless people,” said the presidency in a statement, bringing to mind settlers burning alive the Dawabshe family in the village of Duma and the child Mohammad Abu Khdeir in Jerusalem.
“This is a continuation of the daily crimes committed by the occupation in different forms through the exchange of roles between the army and settlers, which cannot be tolerated,” said the presidency, demanding accountability for the killers and protection for the Palestinian people through ending the occupation and the creation of the independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also condemned the killing of Harb and held the international community and the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court fully responsible for this crime.
“These crimes occur as a result of the lack of a deterrent punishment for the perpetrators, who continue to flout international decisions and condemnations,” said Shtayyeh in a statement.
“The terrorists, soldiers and settlers, take part in shedding the blood of innocent people, including elders, young people, women and children, taking advantage of a feeling that they have impunity as long as the international community continues its silence and is content with statements of condemnation that do not stop terrorism and do not deter a criminal,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, who also condemned the killing of Harb, stressed that “Perpetrators of violence must be held accountable and swiftly brought to justice.”
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency