Third US Army soldier charged with premeditated murder of Iraqis News
Third US Army soldier charged with premeditated murder of Iraqis

[JURIST] The Multinational Force-Iraq (MNF-I) [official website] announced Monday that US Army Sgt. Evan Vela has been charged [press release] with premeditated murder, obstruction of justice, wrongfully placing weapons with the remains of deceased Iraqis, and making a false official statement in connection with the killing of three unarmed Iraqis in three separate incidents between April and June 2007 in the vicinity of Iskandariyah, Iraq [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. Vela is the third US soldier charged over the killings.

Last Saturday, MNF-I announced similar charges [JURIST report] against Staff Sergeant Michael A. Hensley and Specialist Jorge G. Sandoval, Jr. The three will face an Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder] to determine whether they will face courts-martial. If convicted of premeditated murder, Hensley, Sandoval, and Vela could face the death penalty. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

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