U.N. Rights Boss Regrets Israel Dismissal of Gaza Killings Report

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Wednesday that she regretted Israel’s “immediate dismissal” of a U.N. report on its security forces killing protesters in Gaza “without addressing any of the very serious issues raised.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected the report stating: “The council is setting new records for hypocrisy and mendacity out of an obsessive hatred of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. It is Hamas which fires missiles at Israeli citizens, throws explosive devices and carries out terrorist activity during the violent demonstrations along the fence.”

Independent U.N. investigators claimed last week that Israeli security forces may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in killing 189 Palestinians and wounding more than 6,100 at weekly protests in Gaza last year.

“All parties concerned should exercise restraint as the date of March 30 approaches,” Bachelet said, referring to the first anniversary of the protests, in a speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council.