Urgent UNGA meeting on Gaza to be held Wednesday

Mohammed El-Said
2 Min Read
Palestinians run for cover from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, east of Jabalia on May 14, 2018, as Palestinians protest over the inauguration of the US embassy following its controversial move to Jerusalem. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

The United Nations General Assembly will hold an urgent meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip. The meeting comes after an Arab request. Palestine’s permanent representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said that the meeting aims at providing international protection for Palestinians in the occupied territories.   

Mansour added that the meeting will witness proposing a new draft resolution, similar to the previous Kuwait proposal, which was vetoed by the United States in the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Last week, the US was the only country of the 15 member states of the UNSC to refuse the draft and used its veto power to hinder the resolution, which called for the consideration of measures to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Gaza Strip. Ten countries voted in favour of the proposal, while four countries abstained.

On Friday, four Palestinians, including a teenage boy, were killed at the Gaza-Israel border, as Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at thousands of Palestinians, who were protesting Israeli policies. Over 400 others were wounded, according to Gaza health officials.

An Agence France-Presse photographer, Mohammed Abed Al-Baba, was among the injured and was hit by live ammunition. The AFP said that Al-Baba was wearing a press vest and a helmet, while he was about 200 metres from the border when he was hit, according to the Associated Press.

The organising committee for the Return rallies organised a large demonstration dubbed “million-man march for Jerusalem,” commemorating International Quds Day.  

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Mohammed El-Said is the Science Editor for the Daily News Egypt with over 8 years of experience as a journalist. His work appeared in the Science Magazine, Nature Middle East, Scientific American Arabic Edition, SciDev and other regional and international media outlets. El-Said graduated with a bachelor's degree and MSc in Human Geography, and he is a PhD candidate in Human Geography at Cairo University. He also had a diploma in media translation from the American University in Cairo.