UN Security Council slams murder of Palestine child in West Bank

UN Security Council on Friday expressed profound outrage and condemned "in the strongest terms" the vicious terrorist attack in the village of Duma near Nablus, which killed a Palestinian child and injured his family members, said a press statement of the council.

The members of the Security Council extended their condolences and sympathies to the family of the victim of this heinous act and to the Palestinian leadership and to the Palestinian people. They underlined the need to bring the perpetrators of this deplorable act to justice, said the statement.

An 18-month-old baby was killed and three others were critically injured in the early hours of Friday morning after their home in a village in the northern West Bank was set ablaze allegedly by Israeli Jewish settlers.

The council strongly condemned all such acts of violence, which have affected both the Palestinian and Israeli people, expressed concern about increased tensions, and called for immediate calm, said the statement.

The council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of its motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed, and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group, said the statement.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and has controlled it ever since.

Settlement construction has been a stumbling block for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The international community has repeatedly called on Israel to halt settlement activities so as to help resume the long-stalled talks. Endi