SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Protests along the Israel-Gaza border continued for the fifth straight Friday on April 27, 2018. (Photo: Ma'an News Agency)
Human Rights Advocates Demand Worldwide Arms Embargo as Gaza Protests Continue
"The international community must act concretely and stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel," says Amnesty International
Apr 28, 2018
As the March of Great Return continued in Gaza for the fifth straight Friday--and Israeli forces killed least four Palestinians and injured more than 800--human rights advocates demanded an immediate worldwide arms embargo in response to Israel's "unlawful" use of force.
International outrage has grown over the past five weeks, as snipers with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have shot and killed Palestinians protesting the Israeli occupation along the Gaza-Israel border. Politicians, international law experts, human rights advocates, and others have fiercely condemned the use of live ammunition on unarmed protesters.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, on Friday called for independent investigations into Israel's use of force, emphasizing that "the loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators--not once, not twice, but repeatedly."
While Amensty International supported the call for investigations, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Magdalena Mughrabi said, "The time for symbolic statements of condemnation is now over," pointing out that "despite wide international condemnation, the Israeli army has not reversed its illegal orders to shoot unarmed protesters."
"The international community must act concretely and stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel," Mughrabi declared, warning that "a failure to do so will continue to fuel serious human rights abuses against thousands of men, women, and children suffering the consequences of life under Israel's cruel blockade of Gaza."
The Palestinian Health Ministry told Haaretz that one of those killed in this week's protest was a teenager named Azzam Halal Owaida, who died from his injuries on Saturday morning.
"The use of excessive force against any demonstrator is reprehensible, but children enjoy additional protection under international law," Zeid said. "It is difficult to see how children, even those throwing stones, can present a threat of imminent death or serious injury to heavily protected security force personnel."
According to rights groups, reporters, and the U.N., at least four other Palestinian children are among the more than 40 people who have been killed by the Israeli forces since the protests started late last month.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the March of Great Return continued in Gaza for the fifth straight Friday--and Israeli forces killed least four Palestinians and injured more than 800--human rights advocates demanded an immediate worldwide arms embargo in response to Israel's "unlawful" use of force.
International outrage has grown over the past five weeks, as snipers with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have shot and killed Palestinians protesting the Israeli occupation along the Gaza-Israel border. Politicians, international law experts, human rights advocates, and others have fiercely condemned the use of live ammunition on unarmed protesters.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, on Friday called for independent investigations into Israel's use of force, emphasizing that "the loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators--not once, not twice, but repeatedly."
While Amensty International supported the call for investigations, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Magdalena Mughrabi said, "The time for symbolic statements of condemnation is now over," pointing out that "despite wide international condemnation, the Israeli army has not reversed its illegal orders to shoot unarmed protesters."
"The international community must act concretely and stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel," Mughrabi declared, warning that "a failure to do so will continue to fuel serious human rights abuses against thousands of men, women, and children suffering the consequences of life under Israel's cruel blockade of Gaza."
The Palestinian Health Ministry told Haaretz that one of those killed in this week's protest was a teenager named Azzam Halal Owaida, who died from his injuries on Saturday morning.
"The use of excessive force against any demonstrator is reprehensible, but children enjoy additional protection under international law," Zeid said. "It is difficult to see how children, even those throwing stones, can present a threat of imminent death or serious injury to heavily protected security force personnel."
According to rights groups, reporters, and the U.N., at least four other Palestinian children are among the more than 40 people who have been killed by the Israeli forces since the protests started late last month.
As the March of Great Return continued in Gaza for the fifth straight Friday--and Israeli forces killed least four Palestinians and injured more than 800--human rights advocates demanded an immediate worldwide arms embargo in response to Israel's "unlawful" use of force.
International outrage has grown over the past five weeks, as snipers with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have shot and killed Palestinians protesting the Israeli occupation along the Gaza-Israel border. Politicians, international law experts, human rights advocates, and others have fiercely condemned the use of live ammunition on unarmed protesters.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, on Friday called for independent investigations into Israel's use of force, emphasizing that "the loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators--not once, not twice, but repeatedly."
While Amensty International supported the call for investigations, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Magdalena Mughrabi said, "The time for symbolic statements of condemnation is now over," pointing out that "despite wide international condemnation, the Israeli army has not reversed its illegal orders to shoot unarmed protesters."
"The international community must act concretely and stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel," Mughrabi declared, warning that "a failure to do so will continue to fuel serious human rights abuses against thousands of men, women, and children suffering the consequences of life under Israel's cruel blockade of Gaza."
The Palestinian Health Ministry told Haaretz that one of those killed in this week's protest was a teenager named Azzam Halal Owaida, who died from his injuries on Saturday morning.
"The use of excessive force against any demonstrator is reprehensible, but children enjoy additional protection under international law," Zeid said. "It is difficult to see how children, even those throwing stones, can present a threat of imminent death or serious injury to heavily protected security force personnel."
According to rights groups, reporters, and the U.N., at least four other Palestinian children are among the more than 40 people who have been killed by the Israeli forces since the protests started late last month.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.