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UN To Meet On Deadly Protests Over U.S. Embassy In Jerusalem


Dozens Killed In Gaza Protest As U.S. Embassy Opens In Jerusalem
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The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet on May 15 to discuss violence along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, following the deadliest day there since a 2014 war.

Kuwait called for the session after at least 58 Palestinians were killed and over 1,200 wounded by Israeli gunfire amid mass protests over the United States locating its embassy in Jerusalem on May 14.

Israel said its troops were defending its border and accused Hamas militants of trying to attack under the cover of the protest.

It was not immediately clear what might come out of the council session. No joint statement or action followed a similar meeting after protests in March, and two UN diplomats said members couldn't reach unanimous agreement on May 14 on issuing a proposed statement circulated by Kuwait.

U.S. Embassy Opens In Jerusalem
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The draft statement, obtained by the media, would have expressed "outrage and sorrow" at the killings, sought an "independent and transparent investigation" of the deadly protests, and called on all sides to exercise restraint.

UN diplomats said the United States blocked the proposal over its demand that all countries comply with a decades-old Security Council resolution that called on them not to have embassies in contested Jerusalem.

The United States vetoed a resolution in December that would have required President Donald Trump to rescind his declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Earlier on May 14, the Palestinian UN envoy urged the council to condemn the killings. Israel, meanwhile, called on the council to condemn Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the Gaza strip and led the protests.

The violence came amid celebrations in Jerusalem over the first official recognition of the ancient city as Israel's capital in 70 years. The move infuriated Palestinians, who seek eastern Jerusalem as a future capital of their own.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and AFP

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