The UN General Assembly June 13 adopted a resolution calling for greater protection for the Palestinian people following weeks of the "Great March of Return" protests on the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip. The resolution also denounces any use of "excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate" force by Israeli forces against Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip. The Algerian-sponsored resolution was adopted by a vote of 120 in favor, eight against, with 45 abstentions. The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said prior to voting, that "our decision to approach to the Assembly was prompted by the Security Council's failure to act due to the veto cast on 1 June by a permanent member."* Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the vote is "a victory for Palestinian rights, justice and international law."
While the UNGA—in which every member country has an equal vote—has historically stood in support of Palestinians, its resolutions are generally non-binding. The most impactful UN institution is the UN Security Council, in which the United States has regularly used its veto power to halt texts deemed to critical of Israel.
From Ma'an News Agency, June 14.
* Note: On June 1, the United States vetoed a Security Council measure backed by Arab countries to protect Palestinians and condemn Israel. (NYT)
Photo: Ma'an News Agency
Israeli air-strikes kill two children in Gaza
Two Palestinian children were killed July 14 when Israeli warplanes struck a public park in Gaza City. Besides killing the two minors and wounding about 15 other Palestinians, the missiles destroyed an ambulance, damaged nine other ambulances and several other vehicles, and severely damaged a number of nearby buildings. (Ma'an)
Ceasefire declared following violent night in Gaza
The Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements declared their willingness to cease fire following Israeli air-strikes that left four Palestinians killed. Israel said that its forces targeted 60 alleged Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli soldiers was shot dead at the Gazan borders by resistance fighters. (Ma'an)
Israeli airstrikes kill pregnant mother, toddler in Gaza
Three Palestinians were killed and many others severely injured on predawn Aug. 9 due to the continuous Israeli airstrikes carried out over the besieged Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza confirmed that among the three killed was a 23-year-old pregnant mother along with her 18-month-old toddler. (Ma'an)
Israel fires on 30th Great March of Return protest in Gaza
Dozens of Palestinians were injured with live ammunition as Israeli forces suppressed weekly protests along the eastern borders of the besieged Gaza Strip under the "Great March of Return" Oct. 19. Israeli air-strikes were also carried out in Khan Younis and the al-Breij refugee camp, with two injuries reported. (Ma'an)
Aerial fire exchanged over Gaza border
An Israeli man (ironically himself a Palestinian) was killed after his house was hit by a rocket in the southern town Ashkelon Nov. 12. Two women who were in the same building are said to be in critical condition. Some 300 Hamas rockets struck Israel that day. The day before, Israeli warplanes carried out a campaign of air-strikes across the southern Gaza Strip, killing seven members of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, including a senior member. (Ma'an, Haaretz, Times of Israel)
Hamas agrees to Egyptian-brokered ceasefire
Hamas agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel, following two days of Israeli air-strikes across the Gaza Strip, killing 14 Palestinians and injuring dozens. (Ma'an)
Celebrations in Gaza, protests in Israel
Celebrations broke out in Gaza as Avigdor Lieberman announced he is resigning as adefense minister in protest of the ceasefire with Hamas. (Al Jazeera, Global News) But the ceasefire has not been complete. A Palestinian fisherman was shot and killed by Israeli naval forces off the coast of the Gaza Strip. Israeli naval forces had opened fire at Palestinian fishermen working three nautical miles off the coast of the Strip, forcing them to head back to work at one nautical mile. (Ma'an)