The UN has condemned as “grotesque and inhumane” the video footage showing Israeli forces throwing Palestinian bodies from a roof in the West Bank.
“From what we’ve seen this morning, we’re obviously very concerned about the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank, including the latest Israeli military operation,” Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference Friday when asked about video clips shared on social media showing Israeli forces throwing bodies of Palestinians off a roof in Qabatiya near Jenin.
Dujarric stressed the importance of a “transparent” investigation into the incident and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
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Earlier on Friday, the Israeli military said it had opened an investigation after videos showed soldiers pushing what appear to be dead bodies off a roof in the West Bank during a raid against Palestinian militants.
The videos, which began circulating online on Thursday, showed three soldiers on the roof of a building in the town of Qabatiya, dragging, pushing, throwing and in one case kicking what appear to be dead men off the edge.
Zakaria Zakarneh, the uncle of one of the men, said he saw what had happened. Israeli soldiers had gone to the roof after the Palestinians were killed, he told Reuters.
“They tried to move the bodies down with a bulldozer but it didn’t work so they threw them from the second floor down to the ground,” he said. “I was in pain, very sad and angry I was unable to do anything,” Zakarneh said.
Reuters was able to confirm the location of the video as Qabatiya and confirm the date from eyewitness accounts and video filmed by local Palestinian news organizations showing the same scene.
The Israeli military said in a statement the incident was serious and was not in keeping with its values.
The US said it had seen the video and immediately reached out to Israeli authorities, who promised to investigate and ensure accountability.
“We found it deeply disturbing. If it’s proven to be authentic, it clearly would depict abhorrent and egregious behavior by professional soldiers,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in a briefing.
In a separate statement, the Israeli military said that on Thursday its soldiers had killed seven militants in gun battles and an airstrike in Qabatiya.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza nearly a year ago, with almost daily sweeps by Israeli forces that have involved thousands of arrests and regular gun battles between security forces and Palestinian fighters, as well as attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian communities.
(Inputs from WAM, Reuters)