Israeli troops kill four more
Palestinians in border protest
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[April 21, 2018]
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot dead
four Palestinians on the Gaza-Israel border on Friday, bringing to 35
the death toll in recent weeks among Palestinian protesters demanding
the right to return to their former homeland.
Gazans used catapults and sling-shots to launch stones at Israeli
forces, and some Palestinians brought wire-cutters to cut through the
border fence, ignoring leaflets dropped by the Israeli military warning
residents not to approach the frontier.
The deaths included a 15-year-old boy shot dead in northern Gaza,
Palestinian health officials said, adding that 156 people were wounded
by Israeli gunfire.
U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov wrote on Twitter: "It is
outrageous to shoot at children! How does the killing of a child in Gaza
today help peace? It doesn’t! It fuels anger and breeds more killing.
Children must be protected from violence, not exposed to it."
In response, a retired former Israeli army spokesman, Peter Lerner,
tweeted suggestions to Mladenov, including: "Please go to Gaza, engage
Hamas and get them to stop sending people to the fence."
The planned six-week protest campaign reached its half-way point on
Friday, which saw smaller crowds than in recent weeks. As the numbers
peaked during the afternoon Israeli soldiers called out warnings in
Arabic over loudspeakers to anyone who approached the border fence.
Black plumes of smoke from piles of burning tires billowed over the
area, and stretcher-bearers rushed to carry the wounded to first aid
posts.
The protest began on March 30, and has seen tent encampments spring up
near the Israeli-imposed restricted zone along the 40km (25-mile) border
fence. The protesters have revived demands for Palestinian refugees to
regain their ancestral homes in what is now Israel.
The protests are scheduled to culminate on May 15, when, according to
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, the Gaza scenes would be replicated
elsewhere on Israel's frontiers.
"I say to our people everywhere, be prepared for a human deluge on all
of the borders of Palestine, inside the occupied land and outside the
occupied land," he said on a visit to one of the border camps. "I say to
the (Israeli occupiers) your time is gone."
Israel's use of live fire has drawn international criticism but the
Israeli government says it is protecting its borders and takes such
action when protesters come too close to the border fence.
The Israeli military said that around 3,000 Palestinians were involved
in the latest protest, and that its troops responded "with riot
dispersal means and are firing in accordance with the rules of
engagement."
Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist militant group which rules Gaza, of
staging riots and trying to carry out attacks. Hamas denies this.
Although organizers say the main protest is intended to be peaceful,
some protesters have advanced toward the border from the encampments to
hurl stones and burning tires near the fence.
On Friday they fitted kites with cans of flammable liquid, which they
flew across the border to start fires in Israel.
"We aim to distract the soldiers from shooting and wounding or killing
our people," said Mohammad Abu Mustafa, 17, who lost his right leg a few
months ago after being shot by an Israeli soldier.
Israel's Foreign Ministry tweeted a photograph of one kite daubed with a
swastika flying through the sky trailing flames.
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Palestinian demonstrators remove part of the Israeli barbed wire
during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest demanding the right
to return to their homeland, at the Israel-Gaza border in the
southern Gaza Strip, April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
PACKED IN
More than 2 million Palestinians are packed into the narrow coastal
enclave. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005
but maintains tight control of its land and sea borders. Egypt also
restricts movement in and out of Gaza on its border.
The protest campaign, dubbed The Great March of Return, is leading
up to May 15, when Palestinians mark Nakba Day, or the Day of
Catastrophe, commemorating their displacement around the time of
Israel's founding in 1948.
It takes place at a time of growing frustration over the prospects
for an independent Palestinian state. Peace talks between Israel and
the Palestinians have been stalled for several years and Israeli
settlements in the occupied territories have expanded.
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision last year to recognize
disputed Jerusalem as Israel's capital further fueled Palestinian
anger.
In an apparent sign of concern over the bloodshed on the border, the
Israeli-American Hollywood actress Natalie Portman announced she was
pulling out of a ceremony in Israel to accept a million-dollar prize
because of "distressing" events in the country.
In a statement, the Genesis Prize Foundation quoted a representative
for Portman as saying: "Recent events in Israel have been extremely
distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating
in any public events in Israel."
It gave no further details of her reasons. But the foundation said
it "admires her humanity, and respects her right to publicly
disagree with the policies of the government of Israel".
Israel's culture minister, Miri Regev, suggested the actress was
supporting the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement,
which aims to isolate Israel economically over its treatment of
Palestinians. Israel sees the BDS movement as an attempt to
delegitimize it.
The Genesis Prize is awarded to individuals for excellence in their
professional fields and "who inspire others through their dedication
to the Jewish community and Jewish values".
(Additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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