The United Nations on Tuesday once more sharply criticized Israel for using what the UN called an “excessive use of force” against Palestinian Arab terrorists in the latest wave of terror attacks targeting Israelis and Jews.
Blaming the violence on both sides, Cecile Pouilly, spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, said, “We continue to be gravely concerned at the unrelenting violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Israel . . . We call on both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to act decisively to de-escalate the situation.”
Pouilly said that the “wave of stabbings, shootings, and car-rammings” which “continues to kill and injure Israelis” is “unacceptable”, but that the response from the IDF “has resulted in alleged attackers, protesters, and even bystanders being killed and injured.”
She pointed out that since the recent surge in terror attacks began in October, 117 Palestinian Arabs have died – most of whom were killed by security forces while perpetuating stabbing, ramming, or shooting attacks against Israelis.
The UN spokeswoman called for each incident to be fully investigated, saying, “all instances of the use of force resulting in death or injury by law enforcement officers should be the subject of prompt, independent and impartial investigations.”
She also criticized Israel’s attempts to deter terror by taking punitive action against the terrorists, warning that “punitive demolitions of Palestinian houses and the withholding of bodies of alleged attackers from their families can only aggravate this situation.”
