A U.N. worker carries a wreath in the West Bank city of Jenin with a portrait of Hook
RAMALLAH,
November 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat awarded slain U.N. official, Iain Hook the leadership’s
highest honorary medal Sunday, November 24.
Hook
was awarded the Al Quds Sharif medal, or the Noble Jerusalem medal, and
was declared by Arafat as a martyr of the Palestinian people, reported
the Palestinian Chronicle website, adding that Arafat also sent a letter
of condolence to Hook’s family.
Meanwhile,
the U.N. said it was launching an official investigation into the death
of the Briton, who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier Friday inside a
clearly marked U.N. compound in Jenin, the Chronicle said.
The
U.N. denied the serious accusation that Palestinian gunmen were in the
compound and said Hook was in fact using a cellular phone to try to
evacuate U.N. staff to safety, it said.
According to the BBC’s online news service, the U.N. has already
expressed serious concerns about the killing and accused Israel of
delaying an ambulance which was trying to reach the man - possibly
preventing his life being saved.
The
BBC reported that Hook’s two sons arrived from London on Sunday,
accompanied by U.N. and British embassy officials and that they were
shown around the complex where their father died before going on to
Jenin hospital.
