Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has condemned Israel’s killing of the young Palestinian paramedic Razan al-Najjar near the Gaza fence as another stain of shame for the regime.
In a post on his official Twitter account on Sunday Zarif also slammed the US’s veto of a UN Security Council resolution that condemned Israel’s use of force against Palestinians.
Razan al-Najjar 21 a volunteer paramedic was fatally shot in the chest on Friday while treating injured Gaza protesters in a medical staff uniform.
“In a week when Israeli regime airs an absurd message to Iranians while its US patrons veto a resolution condemning its use of deadly force against unarmed protestors its snipers murder a Palestinian medic tending to the wounded. Shame upon shame” Zarif’s tweet read.
Several human rights groups denounced Najjar’s killing as “a war crime” and a blatant violation of international rules which protect paramedics and medical personnel at times of conflict.
In recent months Israel has stepped up its extrajudicial killings of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Israeli troops have on numerous occasions been caught on camera brutally killing Palestinians with online videos going viral and sparking international condemnation.
Thousands of Palestinians attended Najjar’s funeral in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on Saturday.
Tensions have been running high in Gaza since March 30 which marked the start of a series of protests dubbed “The Great March of Return” demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland by the Israeli occupation.
At least 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the rallies began.
The Gaza border clashes reached their peak on May 14 the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe) which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem.
