TEHRAN, June 14 - The U.N. General Assembly approved a Palestinian-backed resolution Wednesday blaming Israel for violence in Gaza and deploring its "excessive use of force".
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The votes reflected wide concern in the 193-member world body that the resolution sponsored by Arab and Islamic nations was one-sided and did not mention Hamas.
Since near-weekly mass protests began March 30 along the Israel-Gaze border, more than 120 Palestinians have been killed and over 3,800 wounded by Israeli army fire. The overwhelming majority of the dead and wounded have been unarmed, according to Gaza health officials, AP reported.
Israel's use of potentially lethal force against the protesters has drawn international criticism.
Israel accuses Hamas of trying to carry out attacks and damage the border fence under the guise of the protests.
For the Palestinians, the resolution's key provision is a request to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to make proposals within 60 days "on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation," including on "an international protection mechanism."
In the General Assembly, the confrontation over Gaza, reflecting decades-old divisions between Israel and the Palestinians, played out with a few new twists.
Algerian Ambassador Sabri Boukadoum, representing Arab nations, first sought to block a vote on the U.S. amendment, saying it wasn't relevant to the resolution. He said it also undermined reconciliation efforts between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah as well as the "remote prospects" of reviving peace negotiations with Israel.
His motion to take "no action" on the amendment was defeated by a vote of 59-78 with 26 abstentions, allowing the U.S. amendment to be put to a vote.
The U.S. amendment was approved by a 62-58 vote, with 42 abstentions. But General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak declared that under an assembly rule, a two-thirds majority was needed so the amendment failed.
Finally, the assembly voted on the original Palestinian-backed resolution, approving it 120-8 with 45 abstentions.
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour urged the assembly before the vote to address the escalating violence in Gaza and "the crisis" of protecting civilians. He called the U.S. amendment a "bad-faith attempt" to shift the focus away from "the core objective of protecting civilians and upholding international law."
"We need action. We need protection for our civilian population. ... Is that a crime to ask for?" he said.
"We cannot remain silent in the face of the most violent crimes and human rights violations being systematically perpetrated against our people," Mansour said.
The resolution deplores "any excessive use of force" by Israeli forces, particularly in Gaza, and demands that Israel "refrain from such actions." It "deplores the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip against Israeli civilian areas," but doesn't say who is doing the firing.
Arab and Islamic nations then decided to seek a vote on virtually the identical resolution at Wednesday's emergency meeting of the General Assembly, where there are no vetoes.
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