US wants Israel to explain ‘abhorrent behaviour’ as troops push bodies off roof
Videos appearing to show Israeli forces throwing Palestinian bodies off a roof in the occupied West Bank are “deeply disturbing”, the White House says.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said if the footage is corroborated “it clearly would depict abhorrent and egregious behaviour by professional soldiers”.
“We reached out immediately to our Israeli counterparts about it, and we pressed them for more details. They have assured us that they’re going to investigate this and that there will be proper accountability if it’s warranted,” said Kirby.
“We’re going to be very eager to see what the [Israeli army] investigation finds and, as always, we expect that investigation be done thoroughly and transparently.”
Video of the incident, circulated widely on social media, shows Israeli troops tossing bodies off a roof of a multi-story house in the city of Qabatiya after a deadly raid.
As thoroughly and transparently as all the other war crime investigations by the perpetrator. Any update yet on the US citizen shot in the head by an Israeli sniper?
Plus calling the IOF professional soldiers is an insult to real soldiers. It's an army of racist thugs.
Rights group condemns ‘savage’ treatment of bodies by Israeli troops
We’ve reported on the footage from the occupied West Bank town of Qabatiya showing Israeli soldiers pushing bodies off a roof.
Shawan Jabarin, director of Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, said there was “military need to do this”.
“It’s just a savage way of treating Palestinian bodies,” he said.
Jabarin said the treatment of the bodies was shocking but not surprising, and he’s doubtful Israel would properly investigate the incident. “The most that will happen is that soldiers will be disciplined, but there will be no real investigation and no real prosecution.”
UN calls for ‘transparent’ probe into Israeli troops abusing bodies
Asked about footage showing Israeli troops throwing bodies of Palestinians off a roof in the occupied West Bank, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says the video was “frankly grotesque and inhumane”.
“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,” Dujarric said at a news conference.
Dujarric stressed the importance of a “transparent” investigation and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
