US urges restraint amid rage over deaths of two Palestinian teens

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, KHALED ABU TOAMEH, YAAKOV LAPPIN for jpost.com

PA calls for int'l commission of inquiry into deaths after footage purportedly shows teens weren't engaged in violence at time of death.

The United States urged restraint on Tuesday as anger flared over the deaths of two Palestinian teenagers – allegedly by the IDF – during the May 15 Nakba Day riots by Ofer Prison near Ramallah.

The Palestinian Authority called for an international commission of inquiry into their deaths and denounced the incident as a war crime. It spoke after videos published Tuesday showed that the teens were not engaged in violence at the moment of their death.

Palestinians allege the IDF killed the two teens by shooting live ammunition at them. The IDF, in turn, has claimed that it fired only rubber bullets that afternoon. It charged that the videos were edited to give a distorted view of the situation.

The military prosecution last week ordered Military Police to launch a limited investigation into the deaths. No conclusions have been published.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said, however, that the teenagers died during a violent riot in which soldiers and border policemen were in danger.

“Because it was a life-threatening situation, police acted accordingly,” Ya’alon said.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said America was closely following the incident and sought additional information.

“We look to the Government of Israel to conduct a prompt and transparent investigation to determine the facts surrounding this incident, including whether or not the use of force was proportional to the threat posed by the demonstrators,” Psaki said.

“We express, of course, our condolences to the families of those deceased and urge all parties to exercise restraint,” Psaki said.

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