JERICHO, March 28, 2016 (WAFA) – Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, requested on Monday that the United Nations initiate an official investigation into Israeli extrajudicial killings of Palestinians.

Erekat’s request came after a meeting with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, in the West Bank city of Jericho.

He said despite that the Israeli government has announced an investigation into the brutal execution of Palestinian citizen Abed Al-Fattah Al Sharif in Hebron last Thursday, “however, based on historic facts, the Israeli investigations have yet to serve justice. On the contrary, horrendous crimes, such as the assassination of Rachel Corrie, have been rewarded with impunity.”

The official added that 207 cases of Israeli extrajudicial executions of Palestinians, beginning with the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Hadeel Hashlamon on September 13 2015, urgently require an international investigation.

“These executions are not isolated events and Israel must be held accountable for committing these crimes,” the official stressed.

During the meeting, Erekat raised the issue of collective punishments, including the retention of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli authorities, in addition to home demolitions, as well as forced relocation and exile of Palestinian families of those killed by Israeli troops.

Erekat and Mladenov also discussed Israel’s continuing settlement activities, including the latest plans to build 900 settlement units in the illegal settlement of Pisgat Ze‘ev, between Occupied East Jerusalem and Ramallah.

As with all international organization Palestine has joined or acceded to, including the International Criminal Court, Erekat added, “we offer our full support, including furnishing reports and evidence, to Mr. Heyns and other relevant UN and international bodies in order to initiate immediate investigations into the current situation and bring justice to the people of Palestine.”

M.N