Israel Rejects UN Report on Actions of Its Soldiers Against Palestinians - FM
12:57 28.02.2019(updated 14:04 28.02.2019)
Earlier in the day, United Nations officials said that Israel may have committed war crimes against Palestinians during the last year's protests.
Israeli Acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the UN Human Rights Council had "produced another hostile, mendacious and slanted report against the State of Israel… No one can deny Israel the right of self-defence and the obligation to defend its citizens and borders from violent attacks."
Earlier, United Nations investigators said that Israeli security forces may have committed war crimes, killing 189 Palestinians and wounding more than 6,100 at weekly protests in Gaza last year.
"The Israeli security forces killed and maimed Palestinian demonstrators who did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury to others when they were shot, nor were they directly participating in hostilities," it said in its report.
In turn, Israel said that it opened fire to protect the frontier from invasion and attacks by armed militants.
Tensions between Israel and Palestine near the Gaza border have been mounting since late March, since the beginning of the Great March of Return.
The Gaza Strip is one of the two parts of the partially recognized State of Palestine. Palestinian protesters continue regular clashes with the Israeli troops on the border, while the Israeli side accuses Gaza of ongoing shelling.
© Sputnik
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