The US on Saturday foiled a draft statement submitted by Kuwait to the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the massacre committed by the Israeli occupation army against peaceful protesters in Gaza leaving at least 17 dead.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in New York said that the US raised objections to the draft statement proposed by Kuwait on behalf of Arab countries in the UNSC.
The correspondent added that Kuwait sought to obtain a statement from the UNSC during the consultations held on Friday evening but when the US objected that Kuwait called for an open session on Saturday.
He explained that the US objected to the Kuwait-drafted statement which was circulated during Saturday’s open session though it did not include any condemnation of the killing of peaceful protesters who took part in Gaza’s Great March of Return.
He pointed out that this is not the first time that Washington has prevented the UNSC from condemning Israel’s crimes saying that the US biased position has become more clear since the US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley took office.
Kuwait’s draft statement expressed grave concern over the situation at Gaza border emphasized the right to peaceful protest and expressed sorrow at the loss of innocent Palestinian lives.
The statement called for an independent and transparent investigation into the massacre and urged respect for international human rights including protection of civilians.
The Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Friday said that an emergency session of the UNSC had been called for to stop and condemn the Gaza massacre while the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that he had asked the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour to make the necessary measures to seek international protection for Palestinian protesters.
