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
People run through tear gas carrying an injured woman at the border fence with Israel on May 15, 2018 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Amid Scathing Accusations of War Crimes, UN Votes 120-8 to Condemn 'Indiscriminate' Israeli Violence Against Palestinians
"We cannot remain silent in the face of the most violent crimes and human rights violations being systematically perpetrated against our people," said the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations
Jun 14, 2018
Just hours after a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accused Israel of showing "blatant disregard for Palestinian lives" and commiting war crimes in its massacre of over 100 nonviolent demonstrators in Gaza over the past several weeks, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution that condemns Israel's "excessive, disproportionate, and indiscriminate" use of live fire against peaceful Palestinians.
"The international community needs to rip up the old playbook, where Israel conducts investigations that mainly whitewash the conduct of its troops, and instead impose real costs for such blatant disregard for Palestinian lives."
--Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch
"We cannot remain silent in the face of the most violent crimes and human rights violations being systematically perpetrated against our people," Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the U.N., said in a speech following Wednesday's vote.
The resolution denouncing Israel's murderous behavior--which was approved by a 120-8 vote, with 45 abstentions--also requests proposals from the U.N. Secretary General "ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection, and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation."
In a last-ditch effort to thwart the U.N. resolution, the United States tried to ram through an amendment blaming Hamas for initiating violence in the Gaza Strip. The amendment ultimately failed--probably because, as media analyst Adam Johnson points out, "100 percent of those killed [during the recent anti-occupation protests] were killed by Israel."
Predictably, the U.S. voted against the final measure.
The U.N. vote came on the heels of HRW's report documenting the persistent "pattern of Israeli forces shooting people who posed no imminent threat to life with live ammunition."
In addition to backing the U.N. resolution that was approved on Wednesday, HRW called on "the International Criminal Court to open a formal investigation into the situation in Palestine."
As Common Dreams reported, the U.N. Human Rights Council voted last month to dispatch war crimes investigators to probe Israel's assault on peaceful demonstrators in Gaza.
"Israel's use of lethal force when there was no imminent threat to life has taken a heavy toll in life and limb," Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, said in a statement on Wednesday. "The international community needs to rip up the old playbook, where Israel conducts investigations that mainly whitewash the conduct of its troops and the U.S. blocks international accountability with its Security Council veto, and instead impose real costs for such blatant disregard for Palestinian lives."
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.
Just hours after a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accused Israel of showing "blatant disregard for Palestinian lives" and commiting war crimes in its massacre of over 100 nonviolent demonstrators in Gaza over the past several weeks, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution that condemns Israel's "excessive, disproportionate, and indiscriminate" use of live fire against peaceful Palestinians.
"The international community needs to rip up the old playbook, where Israel conducts investigations that mainly whitewash the conduct of its troops, and instead impose real costs for such blatant disregard for Palestinian lives."
--Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch
"We cannot remain silent in the face of the most violent crimes and human rights violations being systematically perpetrated against our people," Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the U.N., said in a speech following Wednesday's vote.
The resolution denouncing Israel's murderous behavior--which was approved by a 120-8 vote, with 45 abstentions--also requests proposals from the U.N. Secretary General "ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection, and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation."
In a last-ditch effort to thwart the U.N. resolution, the United States tried to ram through an amendment blaming Hamas for initiating violence in the Gaza Strip. The amendment ultimately failed--probably because, as media analyst Adam Johnson points out, "100 percent of those killed [during the recent anti-occupation protests] were killed by Israel."
Predictably, the U.S. voted against the final measure.
The U.N. vote came on the heels of HRW's report documenting the persistent "pattern of Israeli forces shooting people who posed no imminent threat to life with live ammunition."
In addition to backing the U.N. resolution that was approved on Wednesday, HRW called on "the International Criminal Court to open a formal investigation into the situation in Palestine."
As Common Dreams reported, the U.N. Human Rights Council voted last month to dispatch war crimes investigators to probe Israel's assault on peaceful demonstrators in Gaza.
"Israel's use of lethal force when there was no imminent threat to life has taken a heavy toll in life and limb," Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, said in a statement on Wednesday. "The international community needs to rip up the old playbook, where Israel conducts investigations that mainly whitewash the conduct of its troops and the U.S. blocks international accountability with its Security Council veto, and instead impose real costs for such blatant disregard for Palestinian lives."
Just hours after a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accused Israel of showing "blatant disregard for Palestinian lives" and commiting war crimes in its massacre of over 100 nonviolent demonstrators in Gaza over the past several weeks, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution that condemns Israel's "excessive, disproportionate, and indiscriminate" use of live fire against peaceful Palestinians.
"The international community needs to rip up the old playbook, where Israel conducts investigations that mainly whitewash the conduct of its troops, and instead impose real costs for such blatant disregard for Palestinian lives."
--Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch
"We cannot remain silent in the face of the most violent crimes and human rights violations being systematically perpetrated against our people," Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the U.N., said in a speech following Wednesday's vote.
The resolution denouncing Israel's murderous behavior--which was approved by a 120-8 vote, with 45 abstentions--also requests proposals from the U.N. Secretary General "ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection, and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation."
In a last-ditch effort to thwart the U.N. resolution, the United States tried to ram through an amendment blaming Hamas for initiating violence in the Gaza Strip. The amendment ultimately failed--probably because, as media analyst Adam Johnson points out, "100 percent of those killed [during the recent anti-occupation protests] were killed by Israel."
Predictably, the U.S. voted against the final measure.
The U.N. vote came on the heels of HRW's report documenting the persistent "pattern of Israeli forces shooting people who posed no imminent threat to life with live ammunition."
In addition to backing the U.N. resolution that was approved on Wednesday, HRW called on "the International Criminal Court to open a formal investigation into the situation in Palestine."
As Common Dreams reported, the U.N. Human Rights Council voted last month to dispatch war crimes investigators to probe Israel's assault on peaceful demonstrators in Gaza.
"Israel's use of lethal force when there was no imminent threat to life has taken a heavy toll in life and limb," Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, said in a statement on Wednesday. "The international community needs to rip up the old playbook, where Israel conducts investigations that mainly whitewash the conduct of its troops and the U.S. blocks international accountability with its Security Council veto, and instead impose real costs for such blatant disregard for Palestinian lives."
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.