The Arab League denounced, in a statement on Saturday, the shooting death of Ali Ayman Abu Alia, 13, during a peaceful protest near Ramallah in the central West Bank, the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) reported.
Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and occupied Arab Territories, Saeed Abu Ali emphasized the point that this Israeli crime exposes the occupation’s contempt for International laws and conventions.
During a demonstration in al-Mughayyir village, on Friday, Israeli forces shot the Palestinian child with a live round in the abdomen, the boy died later in hospital, after attempts to save his life were unsuccessful.
WAFA further reported that European Union representatives called for an inquest into the incident. In a tweet, the EU delegation stated;
“How many more Palestinian children will be subject to the excessive use of lethal force by the Israeli security forces?”
In a statement ,the Palestinian Fatah Movement spokesperson, Osama Qawasmi, called the shooting a “war crime” adding that the incident is a “reflection of the mentality of the criminal Israeli occupation, which exhorts the Palestinian blood, not excluding children from its murder and criminal behavior.”
The Palestinian Minister of Justice, Muhammad Shalalda, stated to the Voice of Palestine Radio, on Saturday;
“The occupation army’s execution of the child Ali Ayman Abu Alya includes individual responsibility that the killer soldier bears, and an international responsibility that Israel bears before the International Criminal Court.”
United States Congresswoman, Betty McCollum, told Middle East Eye, Saturday, that the shooting death of the child at the hands of the Israeli soldiers, was a;
“grotesque state-sponsored killing”
A press release from Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, stated;
“UNICEF urges the Israeli authorities to fully respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of all children and refrain from using violence against children, in accordance with international law. We also call on the Palestinian authorities to prevent children from being exposed to the risk of violence.”
A funeral procession for the slain boy, was attended by hundreds of Palestinians, on Saturday, leaving the Ramallah hospital where he was pronounced dead, ending at the local cemetery, the Palestinian News Network reported. Mourners carried the body of the child, while repeating slogans against the Israeli occupation.
~ WAFA, Jerusalem Press, PNN, Middle East Eye, Unicef
Image: PNN
