Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk:As the violent protests in Gaza Strip unfolded, countries such as France, United Kingdom and Egypt have condemned Israel’s continued suppression on Palestinian demonstrators.
Emily Thornberry, the Labour Party’s Shadow Foreign Secretary condemned Israel’s “brutal and lethal actions” on the Gaza border.
“We condemn unreservedly the Israeli government for their brutal, lethal and utterly unjustified actions on the Gaza border, and our thoughts are with all those Palestinians in Gaza whose loved ones have been killed or injured as a result,” CNN quoted Thornberry as saying.
“These actions are made all the worse because they come not as the result of a disproportionate over-reaction to one day’s protests, but as the culmination of six weeks of an apparently systemic and deliberate policy of killing and maiming unarmed protestors and bystanders who pose no threat to the forces at the Gaza border, many of them shot in the back, many of them shot hundreds of metres from the border, and many of them children,” he added.
Palestinian authorities also condemned the Gaza protests and has called for an “immediate and urgent international intervention” to stop the “horrific massacre committed by the Israeli soldiers.”
In a statement, government spokesman Youssef Mahmoud called upon “Arab, Muslim and friendly governments to exert their utmost effort to intervene to stop the bloodshed and to standby the Palestinian leadership in the face of the aggression of the Israeli occupation.”
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also condemned “the targeting of unarmed Palestinian civilians by the Israeli occupation forces.”
“Egypt fully rejects the use of force against peaceful marches demanding fair and legitimate rights and warns of the negative consequences of such a serious escalation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This statement stresses Egypt’s full support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, first and foremost the right to establish their independent state with its capital in East Jerusalem,” the MOFA said in a statement.
France’s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, urged Israeli authorities to show restraint in its use of force against Palestinian protesters.
“France calls on all actors to show responsibility to prevent a new escalation,” Le Drian said in a statement. “France again calls on the Israeli authorities to exercise discernment and restraint in the use of force that must be strictly proportionate,” he said.
Le Drian said the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem “violated international law and in particular United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, said Israel should stop firing on the protesters.
In a tweet, he wrote, “Shocking killing of dozens, injury of hundreds by Israeli live fire in #Gaza must stop now. The right to life must be respected. Those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account. The int’l community needs to ensure justice for victims” – #Zeid.”
“Shocking killing of dozens, injury of hundreds by Israeli live fire in #Gaza must stop now. The right to life must be respected. Those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account. The int'l community needs to ensure justice for victims” – #Zeid. pic.twitter.com/hBb7825Sp8
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) May 14, 2018
So far, 52 Palestinian demonstrators have died in the violent clashes with Israeli soldiers at the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. This is the biggest number of fatalities suffered in one day since the latest round of demonstrations began in March.
Jerusalem is considered a sacred place, which is home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. However, it is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as a capital of its future state.
Amidst this, the United States on Monday officially opened its brand new embassy in Jerusalem’s Arnona area. In a series of tweets, the US President Donald Trump called it an “a great day for Israel” and a “big day for Israel.” (ANI)
