The U.N. General Assembly is poised to hold an emergency session on Wednesday focusing on the riots on the Israel-Gaza Strip border and particularly on the allegedly excessive force used by Israeli security forces against Palestinian protesters.
Some 120 Palestinians have been killed and thousands have been wounded since Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza, launched its border riot campaign on March 30.
Israel has repeatedly presented evidence that Gaza terrorists have used the cover of the crowds to attempt to breach the security fence, plant explosives on the border and carry out attacks, but the international community has still leveled harsh criticism at Israel over the bloodshed.
The General Assembly's meeting was called at the request of the Turkish Mission to the U.N.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has excoriated Israel over the Gaza deaths and has been pushing for a U.N. resolution against Israel. But with the U.S. vetoing Arab-sponsored resolutions against Israel in the Security Council, Erdogan has decided to present it to the General Assembly, where no nation has veto power and Israel's opponents are guaranteed a majority.
The resolution was drafted by the Turks, Palestinians and Algerians and is based on a previous Qatari-sponsored draft rejected by the Security Council. That draft called on the U.N. to order Israel "to lift the blockade" it placed on Gaza in 2007, and to form an "international protection mechanism" for the Palestinians in Gaza.
Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour and Arab and Islamic envoys met Friday with General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak to officially request a vote on the resolution.
Still, despite the expected win in the General Assembly, resolutions passed by the 193-member forum are declarative only and are nonbinding.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon slammed Turkey's move, saying, "Unfortunately, instead of denouncing Hamas terrorists, some countries seek to ram Israel in the United Nations for political gains at home."
The Palestinians have also asked the General Assembly to order an investigation into the events on the Gaza border.
"What happened on the ground ... is a testament to the urgent protection we need to be provided," Mansour told reporters Friday.
"We will not relent in our quest to try to find ways to provide protection for the civilian population [in Gaza] because it is our duty. It is the right thing to do, and it is the thing that the Palestinian people, including those in the Gaza Strip and occupied east Jerusalem, need.
"We are determined to do everything that we can in order to provide them or to contribute to providing them with international protection. We are in the initial stages. We managed to have support for it from the majority of members in the Security Council, and we are determined to have a larger support in the General Assembly. We will not relent until protection to be provided in the path of ending the occupation."
