The British government will support an investigation into the use of force by the Israeli military against Palestinian protesters at the Gaza border fence, a UK Foreign Office official told the House of Commons Tuesday.
The clashes come on a day Palestinians call “The Catastrophe” or “Nakba,” in memory of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who were driven from or left their homes during the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war.
On the Monday Israeli troops killed more than 50 Palestinians taking part in what they called the Great March of Return, Israel and American leaders studiously ignored the bloodbath in Gaza and celebrated the inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Israel is protesting to it’s right to defend the physical border, which does not exit. As Israel is continually pushing the boundaries whilst claiming new land for settlements. But the violence used against 1300 Palestinian protesters has been unjustified and inconsistent to the level of protests.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN has claimed that Iran is supporting the protests in Gaza. But there is no Iranian force on the ground or anywhere near the so called ‘border’. The Palestinians are not armed have been responding to the onslaught with sticks and stones compared to the Israeli might of military warfare.
Alistair Burt, the Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign Office, said the UK was working “urgently” with the UN towards an inquiry into Israeli violence towards Palestinian protesters, which has so far left 60 dead, including eight children.
“The United Kingdom has been clear in calling for, urgently, a need to establish the facts of what happened, including why such a volume of live fire was used. We are supportive of an independent, transparent investigation,” Burt told members of parliament Tuesday.
The Turks have responded by instructing Israel’s ambassador to Turkey to leave the country “for a period of time,” the Turkish foreign ministry said Tuesday, in the latest diplomatic spat between the two countries over Ankara’s opposition to the US Embassy move to Jerusalem.
Turkey withdrew its ambassadors to the US and Israel on Monday night in protest over the US Embassy relocation, according to state media.
Social media is awash with stories and photos of those who have died. It appears that nearly every neighborhood has lost somebody, and there is constant chatter on the streets of casualties.
More videos to follow.
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