EuroMed Rights deplores Israel’s illegal use of lethal force against peaceful demonstrators last Friday in Gaza, costing the life of 15 Palestinian protestors and injuring 1087*.
European leaders should unconditionally condemn Israel’s use of live ammunition against unarmed demonstrators and firmly recall Israel’s responsibility over Gaza unprecedented humanitarian crisis after over 10 years of closure and border restrictions.
The EU and its Member States should also acknowledge that the unlawful killings are the direct result of Israel’s shoot-to-kill policy against unarmed Palestinians and constitute gross human rights violations. In the build-up to Friday’s protests in Gaza, Israel had declared deploying 100 sharpshooters with permission to use live ammunition against protestors. Qualified positions and anything falling short of clear condemnations and calls for accountability will only lead to further impunity in Israel/Palestine.
A strong European reaction becomes all the more urgent as Israel refuses to allow an international investigation and the United Nations Security Council attempt to inquire into the incident is quashed by Washington.
EuroMed Rights’ thoughts are with the victims, their families and all the people in Israel/Palestine who want and deserve to live their lives free from violence and fear.
*Update: The total number of victims is currently 39.