UN Council: Israel Intentionally Shot Children and Journalists in Gaza

Officials say killings are part of Israel's 'obligation'

Israel is furious at the UN Human Rights Council most of the time, but they are particularly furious whenever the body offers a report, as Israel tends to violate a lot of human rights. In this case, the council has announced an “independent inquiry” into the protests at the Gaza border.

Every Friday, for months now, Palestinian protesters have rallied near the Gaza border to protest the Israeli blockade. Every Friday, Israel shoots a large number of people. The investigation ruled that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel violated international law.

The report noted that 154 out of 183 people killed by Israel in that time were entirely unarmed. They noted Israel had repeatedly, deliberately shot children and journalists, as well as disabled protesters. International law, needless to say, frowns upon those sorts of deliberate killings.

While Israeli officials reacted with typical fury, it is noteworthy that they didn’t deny any of the content of the report. Instead, Acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz argued Israel has a “right of self-defense and the obligation to defend its citizens and borders.” In essence, he is arguing that Israel had an obligation to shoot those unarmed children.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.