RAMALLAH, April 7, 2018 (WAFA) – Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s Executive Committee, Hanan Ashrawi, condemned on Saturday Israel‘s deliberate attacks against unarmed Palestinian protestors, urging international community to form an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate Israel‘s murder of Palestinian demonstrators.
"Yesterday marked the one-week anniversary of the ongoing "Great March of Return" which affirms the right of return for Palestinian refugees. However, despite the fact that the protestors were unarmed, Israeli forces deliberately targeted Palestinians with sniper fire, live ammunition, tear gas, and rubber-coated steel bullets.
At least 27 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, including sixteen-year-old Husain Madi and photo-journalist Yasser Murtaja, and more than 2,500 have been injured across the occupied Palestinian territory.
“With a sense of shock and outrage, we also condemn the US for preventing the UN Security Council from adopting a statement demanding that Israel respect international law and the right of Palestinian civilians to demonstrate peacefully. Despite the support of other members of the Security Council, the US compounded its culpability by blocking the statement for the second time this week,” Ashrawi continued.
“Efforts by members of the White House and American administration, primarily US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, to safeguard Israel‘s lawlessness and criminal behavior are further cause for alarm.”
Ashrawi praised “the courageous journalists in Palestine and abroad who have worked to present the Palestinian human narrative and report on Israel‘s recent campaign of war crimes as the Palestinian people strive to achieve self-determination and freedom peacefully.”
“These violations against journalists and members of the press are part of Israel‘s systematic policies that deliberately target journalists and media institutions in Palestine. International law pertaining to the safety of journalists must be respected, and Israel must be held accountable in order to ensure it will refrain from employing such illegal policies.”
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