UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday lauded Israel for its “restraint” during deadly clashes with Palestinian protesters and blamed the violence on those who want to destroy a “United Nations member state.”

“Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border? … No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has,” Haley said during a discussion in the UN Security Council on Monday’s unrest in the Gaza Strip.

Kuwait called for the emergency session to discuss the upheaval after 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops and hundreds were wounded.

The US on Monday blocked a statement drafted by Kuwait that called for an “independent and transparent investigation” into the killings.

Haley rejected the idea that the protests on the border was prompted by Monday’s ceremony opening the US Embassy in Jerusalem, saying Hamas had been inciting violence “long before the United States decided to move our embassy.”

“Those who suggest the Gaza violence has anything to do with the location of the American embassy are sorely mistaken,” she said. “Rather the violence comes from those who reject the existence of the State of Israel in any location.”

“Such a motivation – the destruction of a United Nations member state – is so illegitimate as to not be worth our time in the security council, other than the time it takes to denounce it,” she continued.

President Trump in December announced that the US would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the embassy there from Tel Aviv.

The decision drew immediate condemnation from many Arab states, including the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem to be their capital.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian observer to the United Nations, condemned the “odious massacre committed by Israel occupation forces” and urged the US to intervene.

The US “should not close their eyes to a situation on the ground,” he said.

Haley left the security council meeting during Mansour’s speech.

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon, like Haley, heaped blame for the violence on the militant group Hamas.

“These were not demonstrations, these were not protests, these were violent riots. They have repeatedly attempted to sabotage and breach the fence with the explicit goal of killing Israelis,” he told the council.

He said Hamas is “playing a deadly game” and “exploiting” their own people as human shields.

“Hamas has committed war crimes not only against Israeli civilians but also against its own people – turning them into human shields for their own cynical gain. Every casualty that has resulted from the recent violence is a victim of Hamas’ war crimes,” Danon said.

Kuwait said it would seek a resolution for the “protection of the Palestinian civilians” but not including peace-keeping troops.