Defense minister: No inquiry into Gaza border deaths

By Loveday Morris and Hazem Balousha, The Washington Post

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Transcribed from the clipping

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman yesterday rejected calls for an inquiry into the deaths of at least 15 Palestinians, saying that troops “deserve a commendation” for their response to protests at the Gaza border.

The “March of Return” to mark the anniversary of land appropriation by Israel in 1976 drew tens of thousands of Gaza residents to points along the border fence on Friday. Israel’s use of live ammunition to push them back triggered calls by the United Nations, rights groups and Gaza families for an investigation.

The Israeli military said it adhered to rules of engagement during what it characterized as an attempt by Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, to break through the fence into Israel and endanger its security.

The Palestinian representative to the United States, Husam Zomlot, accused Israel of “indiscriminate murder” and called opening fire on demonstrators “morally repugnant and a crime against humanity.” Lieberman told Israel’s Army Radio that only people who tried to approach the border fence had been shot.

Israel’s military says its rules of engagement are confidential but comply with international law. “Under no circumstances will a commission of inquiry be established,” Lieberman said. Israeli troops pulled out of Gaza in 2005, but the United Nations still considers it occupied territory because Israel has “effective control.”

The movement of goods and people has been severely restricted since Hamas, which Israel and the United States consider a terrorist organization, took over Gaza 11 years ago, with Israel citing security concerns.

How this transcription was made

Date and publication rest on the collector's slide label; no masthead, folio or printed dateline appears on this clipping.

Context added by this archive

The best-reported clipping in the batch and the clearest answer to the question of what Palestinians were allowed to say in their own words: a Gaza doctor on the wound pattern, a named 23-year-old patient, the Palestinian envoy on ‘a crime against humanity’, and the paper’s own observation that ‘All the injured people observed by The Washington Post over the course of the day appeared to have been shot in the legs.’

Co-bylined with Hazem Balousha, the only Palestinian byline in this batch. Also printed: more than 700 people suffered gunshot wounds on Friday per the Gaza Health Ministry; Al-Shifa administrative workers showed computer records listing 283 people admitted with injuries from the demonstrations.

Cite this clipping

"Defense minister: No inquiry into Gaza border deaths," The Republican, 2 April 2018. Covering Palestine archive, CP-2018-043. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-2018-043