Iran: US, allies liable for Israel crimes as UN urges probe into teenager’s killing

AhlulBayt News Agency: The Iranian Foreign Ministry has condemned the Israeli killing of a female Palestinian teenager, saying the Tel Aviv regime's Western backers are responsible for the unchecked Israeli atrocities that target Palestinians every day.

"Not a day goes by without the world people hearing some news about martyrdom, injury, or detention of Palestinian children, teenagers, and youths at the hands of the apartheid Zionist regime," Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani tweeted on Tuesday.

"Not only Israel, but also the regimes in America, England, France, and Germany are, as the [Israeli] regime's main supporters, responsible for these atrocities and should answer in the dock," he added.

The remarks came two days after 16-year-old Jana Majdi Zakarneh was killed in the city of Jenin in the north of the Tel Aviv-occupied West Bank, after an Israeli sniper targeted and fatally shot her in the head.

The Israeli military alleges that the victim was killed during Israeli forces' clashes with Palestinians in the city.

It also claimed that an initial review of the incident had found a "high probability" that Zakarneh had been killed by "the accidental fire of" Israeli forces that had been "directed at Palestinian gunmen during the battle." 

UN calls for probe

The spokesman for Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres called for an investigation into the "shocking" death of the Palestinian teenager.

"That killing today is, indeed, shocking," Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

The shooting death "needs to be fully investigated," the spokesman said, adding that "it is yet another example of the price that civilians are paying in this atmosphere where we’re seeing increased violence."

Reacting to the tragedy, the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas said targeting minors was a heinous crime, calling for mass mobilization against Israeli military forces and settlers' attacks throughout the occupied territories.

Following the murder, the Palestine Liberation Organization umbrella group's Executive Committee Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh also broached the issue with United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland, urging the UN to "provide international protection for our people."

Last month, the United Nations said 2022 had been the deadliest year for the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, based on a fatality count that the UN started to keep a tally of in 2005.

Unabated and indiscriminate violence by the Israeli regime has cost the lives of more than 200 Palestinians since the beginning of the year.

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