UNITED NATIONS (TURKISH JOURNAL)- By Janet Ekstract – New claims from the chief of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Pierre Krahenbuhl, were made today at a press conference in Gaza City – that the Israeli army intentionally targeted protesters’ lower limbs, knees, backs and heads.
The evidence stems from what Krahenbuhl described as “shocking” injuries sustained by Palestinian protesters near the Gaza-Israel security fence, last week. He added that of the 13,000 Palestinians injured since the Gaza rallies began on on March 30, that approximately 3,500 were struck by live ammunition.
Gaza’s health sector has been pushed to its ultimate limit, according to the UNRWA chief and the main representative for Doctors Without Border. This is largely due to the severity of the injuries they reported, because recovery time has either double, tripled or those most severely hit have been disabled for life. Of the 65 Palestinian demonstrators who lost their lives on May 14, none of them were armed according to investigations, reports and eyewitnesses at the scene.
Protests coincided with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment in 1948 – an event Palestinians refer to as “The Catastrophe” – but the decision of the U.S. government under President Trump, to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem which has long been a sore point of contention among Israel and Arab governments – pushed things over the edge.
Currently, The United Nations Human Rights Council announced their plan for a full and detailed investigation into the incidents and demand that those responsible be held “fully accountable.” Meanwhile, Kuwait has circulated a new draft resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the use of live ammunition and the use of “excessive force.”
