US blocks UNSC statement on Gaza violence
new york — The United States on Saturday blocked a draft UN Security Council statement urging restraint and calling for an investigation of clashes on the Gaza-Israel border that left 16 dead, diplomats said.
Clashes erupted as tens of thousands of Gazans protested near the border on Friday, with Israeli forces using tear gas and live fire to force back smaller numbers of demonstrators who approached within a few hundred yards of the heavily fortified border fence.
In addition to the 16 Palestinians killed, more than 1,400 were wounded, 758 of them by live fire, with the remainder hurt by rubber bullets and tear gas inhalation, according to the Gazan health ministry.
Kuwait, which represents Arab countries on the council, presented the proposed statement, which called for an “independent and transparent investigation” of the violence.
The draft council statement also expressed “grave concern at the situation at the border.”
And it reaffirmed “the right to peaceful protest” and expressed the council’s “sorrow at the loss of innocent Palestinian lives.”
The draft statement was circulated to the council on Friday, but on Saturday the United States raised objections and said it did not support its adoption, a Security Council diplomat said.
The US mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request from AFP for
While some Palestinians have thrown stones and other objects towards the fence, it’s hard to believe how this would be an imminent danger to the lives of well-equipped soldiers protected by snipers, tanks and drones Amnesty
comment.The proposed statement also called “for respect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including protection of civilians,” according to the draft.
Council members “called upon all sides to exercise restraint and prevent a further escalation,” the draft said.
The proposed statement stressed the need to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians based on a two-state solution.
Meanwhile, Israel rejected calls for an independent probe. Israel’s military has faced questions from rights groups over its use of live fire on Friday, the bloodiest day in the conflict since a 2014 war, while Palestinians accuse soldiers of firing on protesters posing no threat.
Both UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini have called for an independent investigation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netan- yahu praised soldiers’ actions for “guarding the country’s borders,” while Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the protests were not a “Woodstock festival”.
Lieberman said calls for an independent investigation were hypocritical and on Sunday repeated his rejection of such an investigation.
“There will be no commission of inquiry,” he told Israel’s public radio.
“There will be no such thing here. We shall not cooperate with any commission of inquiry.”
Netanyahu also hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his sharp criticism of what he called Israel’s “inhumane attack” in Gaza.
“The most moral army in the world will not be lectured to on morality from someone who for years has been bombing civilians indiscriminately,” Netanyahu tweeted.
He has previously labelled Erdogan as someone who “bombs Kurdish villagers”.
The military has defended the soldiers’ action and said they opened fire only when necessary against those throwing stones and firebombs or rolling tyres at soldiers.
It said there were attempts to damage the fence and infiltrate Israel, while alleging there was also an attempted gun attack against soldiers along the border.
Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza and with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of using the protest as cover to carry out violence.
Unverified videos being shared online have fuelled the debate, including one appearing to show a protester running with a tyre being shot while seeming to pose no threat. —