Gaza border protests resume as UN calls for inquiry

Palestinians resumed their fiery protests at Gaza's border with Israel on Friday as a U.N. human rights body criticized Israel for the "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force" that killed at least 59 Palestinians earlier this week. Israel condemned the resolution by the U.N. Human Rights Council as biased.

A teargas canister fired by Israeli troops falls over Palestinian protesters at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A Palestinian protester hurls stones at Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Friday's Gaza protests — the eighth in as many weeks — drew Israeli gunfire and tear gas, with at least 23 people wounded, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

Egypt, meanwhile, said it has opened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza for the entire Muslim holy month of Ramadan in an apparent effort to ease the crisis in the impoverished, densely populated territory.

A Palestinian protester hurls stones at Israeli troops as others take a cover in a hole during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A protester hurls stones at Israeli troops as another holds a Palestinian flag during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Organizers of the protests say they are meant in large part to break the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt and to pressure Israel to ease its restrictions. Since the demonstrations began March 30, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,500 wounded by live fire, according to the Health Ministry. Palestinian officials say most of the casualties have been unarmed protesters. One Israeli soldier has been wounded.

The weekly protests peaked Monday when about 40,000 Gazans descended on the border. As in previous demonstrations, the protesters burned tires and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops, and tried to attack the border fence. Israeli snipers opened fire in response, killing 59 Palestinians and wounding hundreds in the deadliest day of cross-border violence in Gaza since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas.

Tear gas canisters fired by Israeli troops fall over Palestinian protesters during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Palestinian protesters hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Friday's protests began later than in recent weeks and drew a smaller turnout, apparently due to the Ramadan fast. Most of participants gathered in tent camps a safe distance from the border, but dozens still got close to the fence.

Earlier in the day, several injured Gaza residents with Jordanian citizenship, along with their relatives, were taken to Jordan for medical treatment at the request of the king of Jordan, the Israeli military said. The military did not say when they were wounded.

In Geneva, the U.N. Human Rights Council voted to set up a commission of inquiry to look into the Israeli actions.

A Palestinian protester hurls stones at Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Palestinian protesters burn tires near the fence at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Meeting in a special session, the council voted 29-2 with 14 abstentions to back a resolution that also condemned "the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by the Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians."

The "independent, international commission of inquiry" mandated by the council will be asked to produce a final report in March 2019.

A Palestinian protester carries a tire to burn near the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Palestinian protesters hurl stones at Israeli troops after they burn tires along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein backed calls for an international inquiry and questioned Israel's assertion that its security forces tried to minimize casualties.

"There is little evidence of any attempt to minimize casualties on Monday," he said.

Some demonstrators threw firebombs, used slingshots, flew burning kites into Israel to set fields ablaze and tried to use wire-cutters on the border fences, but "these actions alone do not appear to constitute the imminent threat to life or deadly injury which could justify the use of lethal force," said Zeid, a Jordanian prince.

Palestinian protesters hurl stones at Israeli troops after burning tires along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

A Palestinian protester burns tires near the fence at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the resolution, which was put forward by countries including Pakistan, as "nothing new under the sun."

"An organization that calls itself the Human Rights Council once again proves that it is hypocritical and biased and that its purpose is to harm Israel and support terror. But mostly it has proven that it is irrelevant," Netanyahu said.

Palestinian protesters burn tires near the fence at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Palestinian protesters run for cover from teargas fired by Israeli forces near the fence at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

"Israel completely rejects the resolution that was adopted by an automatic anti-Israel majority whose results were known from the start," he said. "Israel will continue to defend its citizens and soldiers as it has the right to defend itself."

Israeli ambassador Aviva Raz Schechter said "the unfortunate outcome of Monday's riots can only be attributed to Hamas' cynical exploitation of its own population in a violent campaign against Israel."

Palestinian protesters burn tires near the fence at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

A Palestinian protester burns tires near the fence at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during a protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in a statement that "the U.N.'s so-called Human Rights Council has decided to launch an investigation into a democratic country's legitimate defense of its own border against terrorist attacks. It is another shameful day for human rights."

In an apparent attempt to ease the crisis, Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi announced the opening of the Rafah crossing on Thursday night for what would be the longest uninterrupted period since 2013. He wrote on his official Twitter account that it would "alleviate the burdens of the brothers in the Gaza Strip."

Palestinian protesters hurl stones at Israeli troops after they burned tires along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, during protest on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

A Palestinian protester hurls stones at Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Egypt and Israel have imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, heavily restricting movement in and out of the densely populated and impoverished territory.

Over the years, Egypt has opened the crossing for a few days every two to three months, the only way for most Gazans to reach the outside world.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the opening was the result of talks Sunday in Cairo with Egyptian officials.

"We are witnessing the outcome through steps Egypt has taken, and we hope they continue, develop and increase," he said at a Friday prayer sermon in Gaza City. But he added that the weekly Hamas-led protests will continue.

The crossing has been open since May 12, so el-Sissi's announcement was technically an extension. Egyptian authorities said 510 people crossed Wednesday, with most going from Gaza to Egypt. On Thursday, 541 people passed into Gaza along with dozens of trucks carrying cement, steel, power engines and medical and food aid from the Red Crescent, the officials said.

Last month, Hamas' Interior Ministry said more than 20,000 people were on waiting lists to exit. An average of 500 travelers a day moved through the border this week, mostly leaving.

The Rafah crossing has only been open sporadically since the 2013 ouster of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, a high-ranking member of Hamas' parent group, The Muslim Brotherhood. While Egypt has been struggling with an Islamic insurgency for decades, militant attacks increased after Morsi's ouster, leading Egyptian authorities to tighten movement to and from Gaza.

Travel through Rafah has mostly been restricted to humanitarian cases, with priority given to medical patients, students admitted to outside universities and Palestinians with residency permits in third countries about to expire. Palestinian-Egyptians and dual nationals are also eligible to apply.

Travelers moved slowly toward the border Friday. A bus arrived about every hour with people whose names appeared on lists provided by Hamas officials.

Hamas forcibly wrested control of Gaza in 2007 after winning legislative elections, triggering the Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has severely restricted the movement of most of Gaza's 2 million inhabitants.

After more than a decade of Hamas rule, conditions for most inhabitants are dire. Unemployment is over 40 percent, tap water is undrinkable and Gazans receive only a few hours of electricity a day. Hospitals face constant shortages from the blockade, and parts of the territory are still waiting to be rebuilt after a 2014 war with Israel. 

The measures were meant to create a buffer zone as part of Egypt's efforts to purge northeastern Sinai of Islamic militants following the 2014 bombings by an Islamic State group affiliate that killed dozens of soldiers.

Egypt imposed a state of emergency and curfew in northeastern Sinai, including Rafah, which means travelers arriving at the crossing after 7 p.m. must wait until the next morning to leave.

BOSTON (AP) — Some U.S. universities called in police to break up demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests Thursday, as the final days of the semester ticked down and graduation ceremonies loomed.

At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested overnight at an alleyway encampment. Another 93 people were arrested during a Wednesday night protest at the University of Southern California. And new encampments and protests continued to pop up at campuses across the country.

Although many students will soon leave for the summer break, school officials worry that any ongoing protests could disrupt May commencement ceremonies. Students protesting the war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling the conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus.

At Emerson, video shows police first warning students in the alleyway to leave. Students link arms to resist officers, who move forcefully through the crowd and throw some protesters to the ground.

“As the night progressed, it got tenser and tenser. There were just more cops on all sides. It felt like we were being slowly pushed in and crushed,” said Ocean Muir, a sophomore.

“For me, the scariest moment was holding these umbrellas out in case we were tear-gassed, and hearing them come, and hearing their boots on the ground, just pounding into the ground louder than we could chant, and not being able to see a single person,” she said.

Muir said police lifted her by her arms and legs and carried her away. Along with other students, Muir was charged Thursday with trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Emerson College leaders had earlier warned students that the alley has a public right-of-way and city authorities had threatened to take action if the protesters didn’t leave. Emerson canceled classes Thursday, and Boston police said four officers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening during the confrontation.

At USC, tensions were already high after the university canceled a planned commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing safety concerns. After scuffles with police early Wednesday, a few dozen demonstrators standing in a circle with locked arms were detained one by one later in the evening.

Officers encircled the dwindling group sitting in defiance of an earlier warning to disperse or be arrested. Beyond the police line, hundreds of onlookers watched as helicopters buzzed overhead. The school closed the campus. One person was arrested on allegations of assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said, although it didn’t immediately provide details about the incident.

Earlier Wednesday, officers at the University of Texas at Austin aggressively detained dozens of protesters. Hundreds of local and state police — including some on horseback and holding batons — bulldozed into protesters, at one point sending some tumbling into the street. In all, 57 people were jailed and charged with criminal trespass, according to a spokeswoman for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

Dane Urquhart, a third-year Texas student, called the police presence and arrests an “overreaction," adding that the protest would have remained peaceful if the officers hadn't turned out in force. In a statement, the university's president, Jay Hartzell, said: “Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our university will not be occupied."

North of USC, protesters at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, remained barricaded inside a building for a third day. The school shut down campus through the weekend and made classes virtual.

At Emory University in Atlanta, local and state police swept in to dismantle a camp, although the university said the protesters weren't students but rather outside activists. Some officers carried semiautomatic weapons, and video shows officers using a stun gun on one protester who they had pinned to the ground. At least 17 people were detained, handcuffed with zip ties and loaded into a police transport van.

Protesters at Emory chanted slogans supporting Palestinians and opposing a public safety training center being built in Atlanta. The two movements are closely entwined in Atlanta, where there has been years of “Stop Cop City” activism that has included attacks on property.

But many colleges, including Harvard University in Massachusetts, were choosing not to take immediate action against protesters who had set up tents, even though they were openly defying campus rules. And some colleges were making new rules, like Northwestern University, which hastily changed its student code of conduct Thursday morning to bar tents on its suburban Chicago campus.

The current wave of protests was inspired by events at Columbia University in New York, where police cleared an encampment and arrested more than 100 people last week, only for students to defiantly put up tents again, in an area where many are set to graduate in front of families in a few weeks. Columbia has said it plans to continue negotiations with protesters through early Friday.

Perry reported from Meredith, New Hampshire. Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists in various locations including Kathy McCormack, Jim Vertuno, Acacia Coronado, Sudhin Thanawala, Mike Stewart and Sophia Tareen.

Emerson students stand outside court before being arraigned on Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Boston. Boston police arrested more than 100 people near Emerson College overnight as officers cleared a tent encampment. (David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via AP)

Georgia State Patrol officers detain a protester on the campus of Emory University during an pro-Palestinian demonstration Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Protesters are cuffed after being detained on the campus of Emory University during a pro-Palestinian demonstration Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A Georgia State Patrol officer detains a protester on the campus of Emory University during a pro-Palestinian demonstration Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia State Patrol officers detain a demonstrator on the campus of Emory University during a pro-Palestinian demonstration, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia State Patrol officers detain a demonstrator on the campus of Emory Univeristy during a Israel Palestinian protest, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Protesters chant at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin. Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

State troopers on horses push back protesters during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Cameron Llewellyn chants from a balcony during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

University of Texas police approach protesters to apprehend them during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A state trooper yells for protesters to move back during a pro-Palestinian rally at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Protests Wednesday on the campuses of at least two universities involved clashes with police, while another university shut down its campus for the rest of the week. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A demonstrator is restrained by police at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A row of Palestinian flags are seen on the fence at the pro-Palestinians demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

University of Southern California protesters fight with University Public Safety officers as they try to remove tents at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to the media on the Lower Library steps on Columbia University's campus in New York on Wednesday April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Students and press look on as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to the media on the Lower Library steps on Columbia University's campus in New York, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Tents erected at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

A University of Southern California protester, right, confronts a University Public Safety officer at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A pro-Palestinian protester, who declined to give her name, leads chants at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Texas state troopers in riot gear try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

University of Southern California protesters push and shove University Public Safety officers as tempers get heated during a pro-Palestinian occupation on the University of Southern California campus Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A University of Southern California protester is detained by USC Department of Public Safety officers during a pro-Palestinian occupation at the campus' Alumni Park on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Texas state troopers march down Speedway during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Demonstrators chant at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

State troopers try to break up a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of college campuses following last week's arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

University of Texas police officers arrest a man at a pro-Palestinian protest on campus, Wednesday April 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)