*UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Saturday blocked a draft UN SecurityCouncil statement urging restraint and calling for an investigation ofclashes on the Gaza-Israel border that left 16 dead, diplomats said.*

Clashes erupted as tens of thousands of Gazans protested near the border onFriday, with Israeli forces using tear gas and live fire to force backsmaller numbers of demonstrators who approached within a few hundred yards(meters) of the heavily fortified border fence.

In addition to the 16 Palestinians killed, more than 1,400 were wounded,758 of them by live fire, with the remainder hurt by rubber bullets andtear gas inhalation, according to the Gazan health ministry.

Kuwait, which represents Arab countries on the council, presented theproposed statement, which called for an “independent and transparentinvestigation” of the violence.

The draft council statement also expressed “grave concern at the situationat the border.”

And it reaffirmed “the right to peaceful protest” and expressed thecouncil’s “sorrow at the loss of innocent Palestinian lives.”

The draft statement was circulated to the council on Friday, but onSaturday the United States raised objections and said it did not supportits adoption, a Security Council diplomat told AFP.

The US mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to arequest from AFP for comment.

The proposed statement also called “for respect for international humanrights law and international humanitarian law, including protection ofcivilians,” according to the draft seen by AFP.

Council members “called upon all sides to exercise restraint and prevent afurther escalation,” the draft said.

The proposed statement stressed the need to promote peace between Israeland the Palestinians based on a two-state solution. – APP/AFP