GAZA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki on Tuesday slammed the United States for blocking a United Nations Security Council's statement calling for investigating events at Gaza-Israel borders where at least 61 Palestinians were killed Monday.
"The United States has become Israel's protector at the Security Council," al-Malki told official Voice of Palestine radio, adding that "it is always there to cover Israel's violations against the Palestinians."
He added that the United States always uses its veto to block any resolutions condemning Israel.
"This makes the United States a partner of Israel in its crimes against the Palestinian people," the minister added.
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Tuesday to address the violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel.
At least 61 Palestinians, including 9 children, were killed Monday by Israeli fire during clashes along the borders between Gaza and Israel.
The Monday clashes came in response to the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want its eastern part as the capital of their future state.
The protests coincided with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence, a day before the Palestinians' Nakba Day, or "the Day of Catastrophe," when thousands of Palestinians were forced out of their cities and towns to become refugees.
