Palestinians seek another UN resolution against Israel’s use of force

Palestinians and their supporters asked an emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution deploring Israel’s excessive use of force, particularly in Gaza.

The US is demanding changes, saying Israel is unfairly singled out in the draft, which also calls on UN officials to come up with recommendations to protect Palestinians.

Arab nations decided to go to the 193-member assembly, where there are no vetoes, after the US vetoed virtually the same resolution in the Security Council on June 1.

US ambassador Nikki Haley called the Kuwait-sponsored resolution “grossly one-sided” for criticising the use of force by Israel while not mentioning Hamas.

She sent a letter to UN member states on Tuesday calling the General Assembly resolution “fundamentally imbalanced” for “ignoring basic truths about the situation in Gaza”.

Ms Haley proposed an amendment condemning Hamas for firing rockets into Israel and inciting violence along the border fence between Gaza and Israel, “thereby putting civilians at risk”.

The proposal would also condemn the diversion of resources in Gaza to build tunnels into Israel and equipment to fire rockets, and would express “grave concern” at the destruction of the Kerem Shalom crossing point into Israel.

The letter said the amendment would be voted on before the resolution.

Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour said on Tuesday that he was lobbying 191 member states – all but the US and Israel – and expected to win.

While Security Council resolutions are legally binding, General Assembly resolutions are not, but they do reflect international opinion.

The Palestinians sought a Security Council resolution after Israel’s military killed civilians during mass protests in Gaza aimed at the border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt in 2007.

Since the protests began on March 30, more than 120 Palestinians have been killed and 3,800 wounded by Israeli fire.

The draft General Assembly resolution demands that Israeli forces stop “any excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force”.

It calls for “immediate steps towards ending the closure and the restrictions imposed by Israel on movement and access into and out of the Gaza Strip”.

It also “deplores the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip against Israeli civilian areas”, but doesn’t say who is doing the firing.

The draft asks UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to make proposals within 60 days “on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation”, including “recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism”.

Palestine takes resolution to the General Assembly after the US vetoed it in the Security Council