29 members of the UN Human Rights Council voted on Friday for a proposal to set up an "independent, international commission of inquiry" to investigate the ongoing conflict in Gaza, while 14 countries abstained and Australia and the US opposed the move.
The Australian representative stated that Israel had the right to "protect its population," adding that the draft resolution appeared to be one-sided.
"Australia was of the opinion that the inquiry must also acknowledge the role of Hamas, which was not mentioned at all," the summary of the meeting read.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein harshly criticized the reaction of Israel to the protests along the Gaza border, adding that "the stark contrast in casualties on both sides is… suggestive of a wholly disproportionate response."
The protests, called the "Great March of Return" by organizers, began in the late March and have led to 111 dead and over 12,000 wounded on the Palestinian side, many of them.
