Three Palestinians shot dead in border clashes
Three Palestinians, including a 12-year-old, were shot dead by Israeli fire in new clashes along the Gaza border yesterday, the health ministry in the Hamasrun enclave said.
The ministry said 12-yearold Shadi Abdel Aal was shot east of Jabalia in northern Gaza
It had previously said he was 14 and a medical source had named him as Mustafa Abed Rabbo.
Two 21-year-olds, Hani Afana and Mohamed Shaqqura, were also shot dead in separate incidents near Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and Al-Bureij in the centre of the coastal enclave, the ministry said.
At least another 50 people were wounded, the ministry said, as Palestinians again demonstrated in different spots along the border.
An Israeli tank also struck an observation point belonging to Hamas east of Gaza City, a security source in Gaza said.
The Israeli army said an estimated 13,000 people were involved in “riots” at different locations, some of them burning tyres and throwing Molotov cocktails.
Mass protests and clashes broke out in Gaza on March 30 and have continued every week since.
Over that period, at least 179 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, the majority during demonstrations.
One Israeli soldier has been killed. Protests have waned in recent months.
Israel maintains a crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip it says is necessary to isolate Hamas, with whom Israeli forces have fought three wars since 2008.
Rights groups say the blockade amounts to collective punishment of the territory’s 2mn residents. Israel fully reopened the only people crossing with Gaza on Thursday after a week following violent demonstrations that damaged it.
Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said the opening of border crossings is conditional on calm.
SCUFFLES AT VILLAGE SLATED FOR DEMOLITION
Meanwhile, scuffles broke out between Israeli forces and dozens of pro-Palestinian activists at a village slated for demolition in the occupied West Bank.
An Israeli bulldozer sought to close off a route to the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar by dumping rocks and earth on it, sparking a protest that led to small clashes. Three people were arrested, a police spokesman said.
Activists said among them was a French law professor, Frank Romano, but the police did not confirm his arrest.
The village of roughly 200 people is at risk of being demolished at any time, despite fierce criticism from key European nations.
On September 5, Israel’s supreme court upheld an order to raze the village on grounds that it was built without the proper permits.
It is extremely rare for Palestinians to be given Israeli permits to build in Area C of the West Bank, where Khan alAhmar is situated.
The village is located in a strategic spot near Israeli settlements and along a road leading to the Dead Sea.