Palestinians request UN probe into Israeli "field executions"

The Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat requested an official UN probe into Israeli "field executions" of Palestinians Monday.

Erekat requested that the probe be conducted by the United Nations (UN) Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nikolay Mladenov.

Erekat accused Israel of "extrajudicial executions" of Palestinians.

In a press statement, he said that "since September 13, following the execution of 18-year-old Hadeel Hashlamon, 207 cases of Israeli extrajudicial executions of Palestinians urgently require an international investigation."

"These executions are not isolated events and Israel must be held accountable for its crimes," said Erekat.

He added that "according to historical facts, the Israeli investigation has yet to offer justice. On the contrary, horrendous crimes have been met with impunity."

The statement said that Israel's collective punishment measure includes withholding Palestinians' bodies from their families, home demolitions, forced evictions and settlement expansions.

In the statement, Erekat expressed his willingness to "furnishing reports and evidence" to the UN and other international bodies "in order to launch an urgent investigation into the matter."

A recent wave of conflict brokeout last October between Palestinians and Israelis, killing over 200 Palestinians and 30 Israelis. Endit