UN slams ‘gruesome’ killing of Palestinian

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — The United Nations condemned on Friday the "gruesome" killing of a wounded Palestinian by an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank, after a video of the death spread widely online.

"I strongly condemn yesterday's apparent extra-judicial execution of a Palestinian assailant in Hebron in the occupied West Bank," UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement.

"This was a gruesome, immoral and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation."

He welcomed, however, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon's condemnation of the incident and called on the Israeli authorities to "swiftly bring to justice" the alleged perpetrator.

The Israeli army on Thursday arrested a soldier caught on video shooting a wounded Palestinian in the head as he lay on the ground after reportedly stabbing another soldier, his knife lying beyond his reach.

The clip, which was widely shared online and shown by state-owned and commercial Israeli TV channels, shows what appears to be one of the most flagrant cases of Israeli forces' use of excessive force so far in the wave of violence that erupted in October.

The incident was immediately condemned as an "execution" by Israeli rights group B'Tselem and as a "war crime" by Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the soldier's behaviour was not in keeping with the army's values and Yaalon vowed that the incident was being treated with "utmost severity".

The incident also fired up Israeli politicians and added heat to the debate over Israeli forces' response to the current wave of violence which has left 200 Palestinians and 28 Israelis dead.

The Israelis have also been accused of using excessive force in some cases, charges which they have denied.