MEFALLESIM: A picture taken on Tuesday from the Israeli kibbutz of Mefalsim shows fumes from tear gas cannisters blowing amidst Palestinians protesting near the border east of the northern Gaza strip of Beit Hanun — AFP GENEVA, May 15 (AFP): The UN rights office said Tuesday it seemed that any Palestinian protesting in Gaza, regardless of whether they pose an imminent threat, is "liable" to be killed by Israeli forces.
"The mere fact of approaching a fence is not a lethal, life-threatening act, so that does not warrant being shot," rights office spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.
"It seems that anyone is liable to be shot dead," he added, stressing that international laws which apply to Israel make clear that "lethal force may only be used as a measure of last, not first, resort."
"It is not acceptable to say that 'this is Hamas and therefore this is OK'," Colville added, in an apparent dismissal of Israel's justification for the high casualty levels among Palestinians in clashes along the flashpoint border.
Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, of being behind the protests and says it is merely defending its territory.
Colville also noted that a double amputee was among the Palestinians killed.
"How much threat can a double amputee be making from the other side of a large fortified fence?" he asked.
UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said Tuesday that "those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account."
Most of the 59 Gazans who died Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gaza's health ministry said.
At least 2,400 others were wounded in the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia condemned Israeli gunfire on Monday that killed at least 52 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others, without mentioning the inauguration of the controversial US embassy in Jerusalem.
"Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the Israeli occupation forces' gunfire against unarmed Palestinian civilians which has left dozens of dead and wounded," a Saudi foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The spokesperson, quoted by the kingdom's official SPA press agency, called on the international community to "take responsibility and put an end to the violence against the Palestinians", noting Riyadh's support for the "rights of the Palestinian people".
The Saudi Arabian government on Tuesday said it opposed the US decision to relocate its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
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