Israel cages Palestinians in 'toxic slum' of Gaza, says UN rights chief
Zeid Raad al-Hussein says Israel systematically abuses millions of Palestinians, and backs call for inquiry into killing of 62 in Gaza
Israeli troops shot dead 60 Palestinian protesters in Gaza on Monday (AFP)
The UN's human rights chief condemned Israel on Friday for its systematic abuse of Palestinians, including 1.9 million "caged in a toxic slum from birth to death" in Gaza, as he called for an independent inquiry into the Israeli army's killing of 62 protesters this week.
Zeid Raad al-Hussein sharply criticised Israel during the opening of a special session of the UN Human Rights Council that could set up a commission of inquiry into the deaths during Monday's protests near the Gaza perimeter.
End the occupation, and the violence and insecurity will largely disappear- Zeid Raad al-Hussein, UN human rights chief
"Nobody has been made safer by the horrific events of the past week," he told the meeting in Geneva. "End the occupation, and the violence and insecurity will largely disappear."
Israel and the US rejected the calls for an investigation, prompted after a militarised response to protests on Monday took the number of Palestinians killed since protests started on 30 March to more than 110.
“The stark contrast in casualties on both sides is also suggestive of a wholly disproportionate response,” Hussein said in supporting the call for an investigation.
He also rejected Israeli justification for its use of force because some protesters tried to breach its security fence on Gaza's perimeter while others directed stones and burning kites at Israeli troops.
“These actions alone do not appear to constitute the imminent threat to life or deadly injury which could justify the use of lethal force,” he said.
"Killing resulting from the unlawful use of force by an occupying power may also constitute wilful killings, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention."
An injured protester is carried away from Israeli fire during protests this week (AFP)Israel defends use of force
Israel has justified the use of sniper fire, which contributed significantly to more than 12,000 injuries, by arguing Hamas organised the protests as cover to attack Israel.
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Aviva Raz Shechter, claimed Israeli forces had tried to minimise casualties, and accused Hamas of using the protesters as human shields.
Shechter said the UN rights council had returned to its "worst form of anti-Israel obsession".
"This special session, the resolution before you, and its call for a commission of inquiry are yet again politically motivated and won't change the situation on the ground by even one iota," she said.
The scale of violence is quite small compared to the worst human rights situations around the world- Theodore Allegra, US envoy to UN rights council
The US adopted Israel’s position, calling the call for an investigation “one-sided” and repeating the Trump administration’s position that the Human Rights Council has a disproportionate focus on alleged Israeli abuses.
“The scale of violence is quite small compared to the worst human rights situations around the world,” said US envoy, Theodore Allegra.
Speaking at a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said other countries should not follow the US example of moving their embassies to Jerusalem - seen as recognition of the city as Israel’s capital despite its disputed status.
Turkey and Israel have become embroiled in a diplomatic row over Monday’s killings after both countries expelled their respective envoys.
At the end of March, Palestinians in Gaza launched the Great March of Return, a series of weekly protests along the boundary with Israel to call for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the homes they were displaced from on Israel's creation in 1948.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-rights-chief-calls-probe-gaza-killings-504538042
posted by Satish Sharma at
19:11
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