Protesters clash with Israeli police during a rally against the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, on May 14, 2018.(Xinhua/Guo Yu)
The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned the massive killing of Palestinians at Gaza Strip's border with Israel, with some members insisting on conducting an independent probe into the big death toll.
CONDEMNATION
At the request of Kuwait, a public briefing of the Security Council was convened under the agenda item "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question."
The meeting was held in response to Monday's violence in Gaza, which had led to the deaths of at least 60 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli security forces.
Bolivian Ambassador to the United Nations, Sacha Llorenti, pointed out that the situation was not a conflict, but an "occupation," emphasizing that the two sides were painfully unequal in the current colonial equation.
The unilateral decision by the United States to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem had inflamed the situation, he added, recalling that resolution 478 (1980) prohibited such actions.
The United States, which supported the occupying power, was not merely an obstacle to peace, it was now part of the problem, not the solution, he noted.
Nickolay Mladenov, special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, described Monday as a day of tragedy for the people of Gaza.
"My heart weighs heavy today as I begin by expressing my condolences to the families of those killed yesterday and the last six weeks of demonstrations," he said, calling upon all to condemn the actions that had led to the loss of so many lives in the strongest possible terms.
Israel had a responsibility to calibrate its use of force and not to use lethal force except as a last resort, when under imminent threat of death or serious injury, he emphasized.
Reaffirming the right to peaceful protest, the Russian representative said that his country condemned the use of force against civilians.
INVESTIGATION
Karen Pierce, British ambassador to the United Nations, said that "the death toll alone warranted such an inquiry, which should be made public and hold perpetrators to account."
An "independent and transparent investigation" was necessary, including on Israel's use of live fire in such situations and attacks on that country's defense forces.
Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, pointed out that employing such force against civilians could be defined as terrorism.
Rejecting the idea that Palestinians were responsible for their own deaths because they were protesting Israel's actions, he called for a full investigation and questioned why one state had blocked other Council members from demanding independent inquiries into what amounted to a war crime against the Palestinian people.
The United States blocked a Security Council statement drafted Monday that called for an independent investigation into the situation.
