by Shlomo Cesana, Eldad Beck, Yoni Hersch, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
PA says U.S. "bias" in favor of Israel has rendered Security Council a "helpless hostage," demands U.S. be stripped of its veto power if the council is to retain credibility
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U.S. Ambassador to
the United Nations Nikki Haley
Photo: Reuters
The
United States on Friday blocked a U.N. Security Council statement
supporting the Palestinians "right to demonstrate peacefully" on the
Israel-Gaza Strip border" and endorsing Secretary General António
Guterres' call for an independent investigation into the deadly border
riots.
This was the second time in two weeks the U.S. has vetoed a Security Council decision on the matter.
Some 20,000 Palestinians participated in a
second Hamas-backed demonstration on the border Friday. The military
said the protest became violent almost immediately, with hundreds of
Palestinians torching tires and throwing stones and firebombs at the
Israeli troops, and some trying to use the thick smoke to breach the
security fence.
The IDF used water cannons and huge fans to
disperse the smoke, as well as crowd control measures, including tear
gas, rubber bullets and in some cases, live fire, to prevent protesters
from breaching the fence.
The Palestinians said nine Gazans were
killed, including one minor and one journalist, and over 1,000 were
wounded, 300 of them from live fire, in the clashes.
On Friday afternoon, Kuwait, which
represents Arab countries on the Security Council, circulated a draft
resolution among the council's members, seeking to "reaffirm the
Palestinians' right to peaceful protest" and calling for an independent
and transparent investigation of the clashes on the Israel-Gaza Strip
border.
The draft, which was similar to the one Kuwait circulated two weeks ago, also urged both sides to exercise restraint.
Reuters
On Twitter, Kuwait's U.N. mission said the
Security Council "should address this matter and have a unified
position. … What is happening is a violation of international law."
The motion was endorsed by 14 of the council's 15 members but was vetoed by the United States.
Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad
Mansour slammed the U.S. veto of what he called a "nonbinding and
modest" resolution, saying the U.S.'s actions were "very irresponsible"
and gave Israel "the green light to continue with their onslaught
against the civilian population" in Gaza.
Mansour said the Palestinian Authority
would "keep all its options open" at the United Nations, including
seeking a Security Council presidential statement or resolution, going
to the General Assembly or the Geneva-based Human Rights Council – where
no country has veto power – and urging Guterres to form an independent
commission of inquiry.
"We will not give up. We will continue knocking on doors," Mansour vowed.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon
said the Security Council "should condemn Hamas, which uses children as
human shields while risking their lives, and must call for the end of
these provocations which only increase the violence and tensions."
Arab League Ambassador to the U.N. Maged
Abdelaziz said Arab foreign ministers would also discuss options to
pursue the Palestinian issue at a meeting in Saudi Arabia's capital
Riyadh on April 12, ahead of a summit of Arab leaders in the country on
April 15.
Vexed by its defeat at the Security
Council, the Palestinian Authority on Saturday urged the U.N. to "devise
a new formula" for the council's work that would strip the U.S. of its
veto power.
EPA
Ramallah's Foreign Ministry urged U.N.
members and the international community to "search for a new formula
that would invalidate U.S. vetoes and objections if they are found to be
in violation of the goals, principles, and conventions on which the
international system was established."
The ministry's statement said that unless
such a formula was devised, the Security Council would remain a
"helpless hostage in light of blind American bias in favor of the
occupation and will lose what's left of its credibility."
U.S. "bias" in favor of Israel constitutes
"an extension of hostile American positions against our people and
rights, a continuation of its attempts to thwart any joint
Palestinian-Arab moves at the Security Council, and a translation of its
political positions and projects aimed at liquidating the Palestinian
cause," the statement said.
Also on Saturday, the European Union said
the number of casualties in Israel-Gaza border riots "raises serious
questions about proportionate use of force" by Israel, saying such
concerns "must be addressed" and that "reports by the Israeli Defense
Forces about throwing of stones and firebombs against their positions
and attempts to cross the fence into Israel must also be clarified."
The statement, which did not condemn
Palestinian violence, called on both sides to exercise "utmost
restraint" and stressed that "the priority now must be to avoid any
further escalation and loss of life."
The United Nations Human Rights Council
also urged Israel to ensure that its security forces do not use
excessive force against Palestinian protesters at the Gaza-Israel
border.
Firearms should only be used as a last
resort, and unjustified recourse to their use may amount to willful
killing of civilians, a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, UNHRC
spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell said.
Shlomo Cesana, Eldad Beck, Yoni Hersch, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/04/08/us-blocks-arab-led-un-call-for-independent-probe-of-gaza-protests/
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