Erdogan condemns shooting of Palestinian woman by Israeli police at UNGA

The video recently surfaced online, and today at the United Nations General Assembly Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan recalled the images as heinous.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Footage has recently surfaced displaying Israeli forces shooting a Palestinian woman in her 50s at the Qalandiya checkpoint after the woman reportedly attempted to enter East Jerusalem through the West Bank with a knife last week.
According to reports, the woman succumbed to her injuries following the incident, as Israeli forces provided no immediate medical attention to the woman. Witnesses claimed the woman was left on the side of the road for “a long time” before medical evacuation arrived to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital.
The video recently surfaced online, and today at the United Nations General Assembly Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recalled the images as heinous.
“Esteemed delegates, today the Palestinian Territories under Israeli occupation has become one of the most striking places of injustice,” said Erdogan. “If the images of an ‘innocent’ Palestinian woman who murdered heinously by Israeli security forces on the street just a few days ago will not awake the global conscience then we are standing at a point where words are not sufficient.”
The incident has raised certain questions and condemnations from the international community as well as human rights watch organizations accusing Israel of using excessive force against Palestinians carrying out attacks - in 2015 Israel amended a law allowing security forces to shoot at unarmed assailants throwing stones or firebombs, further adding to the conflict.
Some Israeli officials claim that some of these assailants appear to carry out these attacks in order to be shot by police in as a somewhat assisted suicide.
A police spokesperson reported that the woman proceeded towards security forces after repeated calls to stop - just before arriving within 20 meters of the officers the woman pulled a knife from under her garb before being shot in the leg.
“Security personnel who saw that she was approaching them performed the proper arrest procedures and called for her to stop. She did not respond to their calls and took out a knife. As a result of this, a shot was fired at her leg and she was injured,” A police spokesperson said in a statement.
The police disseminated a picture of a yellow-handled knife lying on the ground covered in blood stains, which they report she was holding.

“Video footage of the incident shows the woman standing some distance away from the Israeli guards when they shot her dead. She did not appear to be carrying a firearm and did not pose any immediate threat to the guards or to the lives of people in the vicinity when they opened fire. This strongly suggests that her killing may have been unlawful.
“Under international law, lethal force must only be used when strictly unavoidable and in order to defend people from imminent risk of death or serious injury," said Human Rights NGO Amnesty International
Earlier this year, on May 31, a 19-year-old Palestinian named Yousef Wajih from the West Bank, who had allegedly come to the Temple Mount for Ramadan to pray, stabbed two Israeli's while running through the narrow corridors of the Old City.
He first attacked and critically wounded a 47-year-old man at the Damascus Gate. Then minutes later, while running through the Arab market, the terrorist stabbed a 16-year-old who was traveling back home with his brother after praying at the Western Wall just before 6:30am that day.
Border police arrived at the scene and shot the assailant dead, neutralizing him.
Later scenes show the body of the Palestinian covered by golden foil as Border Police stand nearby and police forensics units comb the scene for evidence.

“Israeli forces have a horrific track record of committing serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law – including using excessive force and carrying out unlawful killings. This pattern grows unobstructed by the complete lack of accountability for Israeli forces who carry human rights violations.
“Today’s killing is an urgent reminder of the need for international justice to start charting the way towards an end to Israel’s institutionalized and systematic violations of Palestinian human rights," concluded Amnesty.