Yesterday in British Parliament Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry’s address urging a unbiased and transparent investigation into the events in Gaza on May 14 went viral. In an opening statement prefacing Thornberry by the Minister of State Alistair Burt, Hamas’s role in inciting violence at the protests is to be taken into account, “…but the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning. We continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint.”
Alistair reiterated the UK’s proposals to improve the situation in Gaza:
- Easing the restrictions on access of movement
- International support for urgent infrastructure and infrastructure projects.
- Support for the Egyption-led reconciliation process
- Return of the Palestinian Authority to full administration of the Gaza Strip
In supporting the case of an investigation (seemingly) into the disproportionate use of force by Israel against the Palestinians, Foreign Secretary Thornberry discussed the nature of such force. Since it is well known and undisputed by Israeli officials that live fire was used by the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces), Thornberry suggests it is important to understand the details.
She reports the alleged use of 7.6mm ammunition on the crowds of protesters whose only weapons consisted of makeshift petrol “bombs” made of plastic bottles, molotov cocktails attached to kites, and rocks. Though it should be understood only a small number of the tens of thousands of protesters and of the 60 dead had anything to do with the use of such weapons. According to Thornberry, as opposed to 5.5mm ammunition which can be used to strategically impair a target, 7.6mm ammunition “is preferred by some because… it is designed to mushroom and fragment, to do maximum internal damage… and it was this ammunition, it is alleged, that was used in Gaza yesterday against men, women, and children.”
Pointing to the partiality of the wording (concerning the movement of the US embassy to Jerusalem) used in Kuwait’s proposed UN resolution to bring about such an investigation, Thornberry suggested a redrafted resolution that simply calls for an investigation into the events, since the last draft was blocked by, of those who have veto power, solely the United States.
Thornberry requested of the Minister of State Burt as follows:
“So can I ask the Minister of State today if he will take the initiative, not just in supporting a new security council statement, but in helping draft a new statement: making no criticism of any party and no link to any other issue, but simply calling for an urgent and independent investigation into the violence in Gaza to assess whether international law has been broken and to hold those responsible to account. A statement that no country could reasonably object to, not even the United States, unless they are prepared to make the case that there is one rule for the government of Israel and one rule for everyone else. And I believe that the investigation must just be the start of an effort at the UN and elsewhere to bring urgent and concerted international pressure on the Netanyahu government to lift the illegal blockade on Gaza and comply with all the UN resolutions ordering them to remove their illegal settlements and end their illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.”
Minister of State Burt was supportive of this endeavor and shared with parliament that efforts were already being made.
Palestinian protesters disperse as tear gas is projected into the crowds (via Mohammed Abed – AFP)
On Monday, May 14, Israel Defense Forces shot and killed about 60 Palestinians, 6 of them children, along with 2300-3000 injured, including 12 journalists. Unarmed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian territories are protesting against the establishment of the US embassy in Jerusalem, formerly located in Tel Aviv. This comes after about a month of protesting in the Great March of Return. Combined with the fatalities from earlier this week, the death toll has reached nearly 100, while the number of those injured has reached well over 10,000. There have been zero reported fatalities of IDF members or Israeli civilians as a result of the protests earlier this week, save one injured, which does not bode well for the legitimacy of their use of force against Palestinian civilians.
Israel has also claimed to have started testing its new method of aerially dispersing tear gas on these crowds. Gazans, in an attempt to protect themselves and their right to protest against further attempts to delegitimize their efforts towards self-determination, have taken to burning tires to make targeted violence against civilians less likely. The weapons Palestinians have employed in the face of live ammunition consist of rocks, fire, and low-level explosives, relatively easy to target and neutralize, none of which could likely have reached Israeli residencies a half-mile away.
The new location of the US embassy ignores any strides towards a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine consistent with any state structure that may ensue. Although some have argued that because the embassy resides specifically in West Jerusalem, that it does not impede upon future peace, but since the city remains split between east and west and is claimed to be the capital of each party’s (prospective) state, the move to claim Jerusalem (not specifying East or West) as the capital of the state of Israel proves divisive in the eyes of those who are not staunch supporters of Israel’s endeavors.
At yesterday’s UNSC emergency meeting concerning the events all those who spoke, save the US and Israel, were condemning of Israel’s use of disproportionate force. To read a summary of each statement made at yesterday’s UNSC meeting, click here.
