UK calls for independent Gaza probe, slams Hamas for ‘exploiting’ protests

Britain calls for an “independent investigation” into the violence on the Israel-Gaza border that left 60 people dead, after the United States blocked a UN Security Council statement calling for a probe.

“The United Kingdom supports an independent investigation into what has happened,” Alistair Burt, a minister at the Foreign Office responsible for Middle East affairs, tells parliament.

He calls on Israel to show “greater restraint” in the use of live fire, and says that the inquiry should look into why so much was used.

However, he also says it was “deplorable but real that extremist elements have been exploiting these protests,” adding the government “understands the reasons why Israel would seek to protect its border and its border fence.”

Burt repeats Britain’s commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict, and says it did not agree with the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

He also tells parliament that the government had “no information to suggest UK-supplied equipment” was used against Gazans.

— AFP