Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon. Photo: UN / Manuel Elias.

Israeli diplomat Danny Danon has slammed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein over his denouncement of the IDF’s alleged use of “excessive force” against Palestinian rioters on the Gaza border over the past month.

“The high commissioner’s decision to condemn a democracy that is diligently defending its sovereignty, while completely ignoring the terrorists of Hamas as they use children for human shields, provides a tailwind for terror and encourages the continued exploitation of civilians,” Danon, Israel’s UN ambassador, said on Friday. “This statement proves once again that high commissioner is not focused on human rights, but only with obsessively criticizing Israel.”

In his statement, Zeid said that in the past four weeks 42 Palestinians had been killed and more than 5,500 wounded along the Israel-Gaza border fence, with no reports of Israeli casualties.

“The loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators — not once, not twice, but repeatedly,” Zeid said.

Israel has said previously that it was doing what was necessary to stop the border fence from being breached during Hamas-orchestrated unrest.