US lawmakers urge Israeli soldiers to defy order to shoot Palestinian protesters

From time to time, the Palestine Center distributes articles it believes will enhance understanding of the Palestinian political reality. The following article was published by Ali Abunimah in the Electronic Intifada on April 12, 2018

Activists on Thursday confronted Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, on her government’s blocking of any international investigation into Israel’s killings in Gaza.As the video above shows, Haley had no answer as members of the antiwar group CODEPINK stated that “Israel deserves to be held accountable just like any other country” for the “killing of peaceful protesters.” Meanwhile, five members of the US Congress are breaking the near-silence.They are backing B’Tselem’s call on Israeli soldiers to defy illegal orders to open fire on unarmed Palestinians taking part in protests in the occupied Gaza Strip. “We applaud Israeli human rights groups that are calling on Israeli soldiers to resist such illegal orders from their superiors, and are urging IDF forces to fully comply with international law and exercise utmost restraint in their use of deadly force,” the lawmakers said on the eve of the third Friday of Great March of Return rallies.“Such measures must only be used as a last resort to stop an imminent threat to life.” Over the previous two Fridays – 30 March and 6 April – Israeli forces have perpetrated a premeditated and calculated massacre of more than two dozen Palestinian protesters who presented no threat whatsoever, prompting an unprecedented warning from the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that Israeli leaders could face trial

 

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