“The United States is appalled by today's disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, in which at least ten more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement. “The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians.”
“We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties,” Psaki added.
“The coordinates of the school, like all UN facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israel Defense Forces,” Psaki pointed out, adding to the UN’s outrage which stated earlier that the Israeli Army had been notified about “this particular installation” on “33 separate occasions”, the last time only an hour before the tragedy.......................http://rt.com/usa/177700-washington-appalled-school-shelling/
3/8/14
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UNRWA School Shelling (U.S. State Department)
ReplyDeleteJen Psaki
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 3, 2014
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The United States is appalled by today’s disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, in which at least ten more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed. The coordinates of the school, like all UN facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israeli Defense Forces. We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties. UN facilities, especially those sheltering civilians, must be protected, and must not be used as bases from which to launch attacks. The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians. We call for a full and prompt investigation of this incident as well as the recent shelling of other UNRWA schools.
We continue to underscore that all parties must take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian casualties and protect the civilian population and comply with international humanitarian law.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/230160.htm
3/8/14