Rajya Sabha Discusses Gaza Violence
NEW DELHI With the number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli offensive now over 430, and with more than 3,000 wounded in the past two weeks, the Rajya Sabha is discussing the Gaza violence.The government had agreed to the opposition’s demands for a discussion last week after many disruptions and protests in Parliament. A resolution is also expected.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj had rejected demands for a discussion saying, “We have diplomatic ties with (Israel and Palestine). Any discourteous reference to any friendly country can impact our relations with them.”
The government capitulated after two days of adjournments in the upper house.Fighting since Israel launched Operation Protective Shield on July 8 to stamp out rocket fire by Gaza militants has killed over 430 Palestinians, many of them women and children, and at least 15 Israelis.Israel has carried out more than 1,750 attacks in Gaza, mostly air strikes, the army says, and militants have fired nearly 1,400 rockets, 1,048 of which have hit the Jewish state.
Last Wednesday, Israeli shelling killed four Palestinian boys on a Gaza beach. Israel and Hamas said they would cease attacks for five hours on Thursday for a humanitarian truce requested by the United Nations.
