<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<h1 class="title">UN commissioner condemns Israeli army killing of
Gaza protesters as ‘deplorable’</h1>
<div style="margin: 5px 0 10px 0;">
<div class="stamp">April 8, 2018 - <font size="-2"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=780015">http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=780015</a></font><br>
</div>
</div>
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human
Rights Liz Throssell released a statement over the weekend
condemning the “deplorable killing” of Palestinian protesters in
Gaza. <br>
<br>
The <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Media.aspx"
target="_blank">statement </a>was released on Friday, hours
before nine Palestinians were killed along the border --<a
href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=780013"
target="_blank"> including a journalist and two minors </a>--
bringing the death toll to 29 since<a
href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=779985"
target="_blank"> “The Great March of Return”</a> began on March
30. <br>
<br>
“Given the deplorable killing of 16 people and the injuring of
reportedly more than 1,000 others during protests in Gaza, mostly on
30 March, we are gravely concerned that further violence could occur
during demonstrations today and in the coming weeks,” Throssel said.
<br>
<br>
“Given the large number of injuries and deaths, the ominous
statements made by Israeli authorities in the days leading up to the
protest, as well as indications that the individuals killed or
wounded were unarmed or did not pose a serious threat to
well-protected security forces – and in some cases were actually
running away from the fence – there are strong indications that
security forces used excessive force.”<br>
<br>
The statement went on to note that Israeli forces are required by
international human rights law “to respect the rights to peaceful
assembly and expression and to use, to the extent possible,
non-violent means to discharge their duties.”<br>
<br>
“In accordance with international human rights law, firearms may be
used only in cases of extreme necessity, as a last resort, and in
response to an imminent threat of death or risk of serious injury.”
<br>
<br>
Throssel highlighted that even if protesters “attempt to approach or
cross the green-line fence,” it “does not amount to a threat to life
or serious injury that would justify the use of live ammunition.”<br>
<br>
“We remind Israel of its obligations to ensure that excessive force
is not employed against protestors and that in the context of a
military occupation, as is the case in Gaza, the unjustified and
unlawful recourse to firearms by law enforcement resulting in death
may amount to a wilful killing, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva
Convention,” Throssel said. <br>
<br>
“We echo the call by the UN Secretary-General for an independent and
transparent investigation into these incidents, with a view to
holding accountable those responsible.”<br>
<br>
Following the deadly first day of protests in Gaza last week, the UN
and European Union (EU) called for an investigation into the Israeli
army’s violent suppression of protests . <br>
<br>
Israel’s Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman rejected the calls,
instead saying “from the standpoint of the [Israeli Defence Force]
soldiers, they did what had to be done.”<br>
<br>
Lieberman added that he thinks “all of our troops deserve a
commendation.”<br>
<br>
Israel has repeatedly perpetuated the narrative that the massive
demonstrations -- which were organized by grassroots organizations
and local activists as a nonviolent protest -- were organized by the
Hamas movement, and that the protests were being used as to
“camouflage terror.”<br>
<br>
The UN call for the investigation into the killings came after the <a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/fails-condemn-israels-force-unarmed-palestinians-180331100718710.html">US
blocked a UN Security Council (UNSC) statement</a> condemning
Israel's use of force against civilian protesters at the Gaza
border, which <a
href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=779992"
target="_blank">rights groups have deemed criminal and illegal.</a><br>
<br>
Israeli forces have long been criticized for their use of excessive
force against Palestinians, and what rights groups have termed their
policy of “extrajudicial execution” in instances where Palestinians
who did not pose a direct threat to the lives of soldiers could have
been detained or subdued in a non-lethal manner.
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://freedomarchives.org/">https://freedomarchives.org/</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>