Israel says it will expand response if Gaza clashes go on
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel will target militant groups inside Gaza if violence along the territory’s border with Israel drags on, the chief military spokesman warned on Saturday, a day after thousands of Palestinians staged protests near the border fence.
Small groups of Palestinians threw stones in several areas near the fence Saturday, drawing Israeli fire that injured 25 people, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Friday’s mass marches were largely led by Gaza’s ruling Hamas group and touted as the launch of a six-week-long protest campaign against a stifling decade-old blockade of the territory.
Protests are to culminate in a large border march on May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel founding. The date is mourned by Palestinians as their “nakba,“or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were uprooted in the 1948 Mideast war over Israel’s creation.
Palestinian health officials said 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and more than 750 hit by live rounds Friday, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and Hamas.
It appears unlikely protests will continue at such a scale, with larger turnouts expected after Friday noon prayers, the highlight of the Muslim religious week.
Organizers set up five tent encampments, each several hundred meters from the border to serve as launch points for protest.
Small crowds approached the fence at several locations Saturday, including east of Gaza City. Some young men broke away, throwing stones at Israeli soldiers on the other side of the fence, drawing live rounds and tear gas.
In two separate incidents, an Associated Press reporter saw two men who walked close to the fence get shot in the legs by soldiers.
In Friday’s confrontations, large crowds had gathered near the fence, with smaller groups of protesters rushing forward, throwing stones and burning tires.
Israeli troops responded with live fire and rubber-coated steel pellets, while drones dropped tear gas from above. Soldiers with rifles were perched on high earthen embankments overlooking the scene.
Israel’s military initially claimed Friday that “thousands of Palestinians are rioting in six locations throughout the Gaza Strip, rolling burning tires and hurling stones.” Video released by the army did not back such a description.
On Saturday, the chief army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, said that while thousands of Palestinians approached the border Friday, those engaged in stone-throwing were in the hundreds.
Manelis denied soldiers used excessive force, saying those killed by Israeli troops were men between the ages of 18 and 30 who were involved in violence and belonged to militant factions.
He alleged Gaza health officials exaggerated the number of wounded, and that several dozen at most were injured by live fire, with others suffering from tear gas inhalation or other types of injuries.
Manelis said soldiers knew who they were shooting at and how many people were hit by live fire.
The Gaza Health Ministry did not provide names and ages of those killed.
Four of the 15 dead were members of the Hamas military wing, the group said Saturday. The group said a fifth member who was not on the Health Ministry list was killed near the border, and that Israel has the body. It said another man is also missing in the border area.
Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital received 284 injured people Friday, the majority with bullet injuries, said spokesman Ayman Sahbani. He said 70 were under the age of 18 and 11 were women.
He said 40 surgeries were performed Friday and that 50 were planned Saturday. “These are all from live bullets that broke limbs or caused deep, open wounds with damage to nerves and veins,” he said.
Among those recovering from surgery was 16-year-old Marwan Yassin who said he had thrown stones with a slingshot at the fence Friday and was shot in both legs. One leg was wrapped in bandages and the other had a cast and metal fixtures.
Yassin said he would not return to the border because of the risks. His mother said at his bedside that she would forbid him from participating in future protests.
Protest organizers have said mass marches would continue until the day of the “nakba,” an anniversary with particular resonance in Gaza where the vast majority of 2 million residents are descendants of refugees. The day, May 15, will this year also coincide with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Manelis reiterated Saturday that Israel “will not allow a massive breach of the fence into Israeli territory.”
He said that Hamas and other Gaza militant groups are using protests as a cover for staging attacks. If violence continues, “we will not be able to continue limiting our activity to the fence area and will act against these terror organizations in other places too,” he said.
The border protests were seen as a new attempt by Hamas to break the border blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant group seized Gaza from forces loyal to its rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in 2007. The continued closure has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern.
The large turnout of marchers in the dangerous border zone also seemed to signal desperation among Gaza residents.
Life in the coastal strip has deteriorated further in recent months, with rising unemployment, grinding poverty and daily blackouts that last for hours.
The prospect of more protests and Palestinian casualties in coming weeks could also place Israel on the defensive.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation, while Security Council members urged restraint on both sides. The council didn’t decide on any action or joint message after an emergency meeting Friday evening.
Abbas, the West Bank-based leader, renewed a call for international protection of Palestinians.
In the West Bank, shopkeepers observed a commercial strike called by political activists Saturday to protest Israel’s response to the Gaza marches.
They have no soul. They actually sent a 7 year old girl to walk to the fence in order to provoke the Israelis to harm her, but they didn't. The IDF returned her unharmed to her family. They will stop at nothing to provoke Israel to defend itself in front of the world's media. It's about time the naive Palestinian supporters woke up.
Picture this hypothetical. Thousands of Mexicans massing at the border demanding return to Texas and California - committing violence and firing across the border, attempting to break through, but picture them being enemies whose whole purpose in life is to kill Americans and wipe them off the face of the Earth. There you have what's happening at the Gaza-Israel border.
Please define "They" because if you mean the Palestinian People then that is a lie. Either everyone has a soul or not.
Throwing incidences of anti-Israeli violence on the table like "trump" cards accomplished not. It does explain things...
Hate begets hate. Peace requires empathy for both sides in this and every big problem facing the family of mankind.
Ah, I think I understand you. You think sending a 7 year old child into harms way means they have a soul. Okay.
Yes, the incitement and indioctrination to virulent anti-Semitic hatred amongst Arab children starts at a very early age:
Hillary Clinton says Palestinian TV and schoolbooks poisons kid's minds
Clinton: "These textbooks do not give Palestinian children an education; they give them an indoctrination that basically, profoundly poisons the mind of these children.
"These children deserve an education that instills respect for life and peace instead of glorifying death and violence. That must be a priority for all people who care about children, who care about the kind of peace, stability, safety and security that Israel deserves to be guaranteed."
Dear Friend Buzz: Well said!
E.
I would not care how Israel handles it's problems with Gaza as long as it does not cause problems for the USA
Israel will expand anyway. If the Palestinians laid down all of their weapons. Recognized Israel's right to exist and never committed another attack against Israel again, Israel will still expand. Israel has always been committed to absorbing the occupied territories as a permanent part of Israel on the map, like they never existed as occupied territories and were always a part of the Israeli state and any talk of a 2 state solution was always a filthy lie on their part. A sick joke. Israel does not want a Palestinian state and will never settle for one no matter what the Palestinians do. They want an Apartheid state with the Palestinians as second class citizens forever.
Why are you being so tolerant and accommodating, Randy? Tell us how you REALLY feel.
Actually I am no longer surprised when I read comments like that. Most Americans are so poorly informed about the true facts about the Arab-Israeli conflict, that when someone posts alternative facts such as you just did...well, sadly, alternative facts being posted about the subject seem to be the norm
Because the actual true fact is-- over the past few decades not only has Israel not expanded the amount of territory it controlled-- but has actually conceded several areas it once occupied and given them over to Arab control!!! (And BTW that included tearing down Israeli settlements...that were once considered "permanent obstacles to peace"....that is..before they nolonger existed).
If you wish to continue your defense using your alternative facts, by all means do so-- I will be more than happy to refute your alternative facts using irrefutable true facts!
Bravo, Krishna
OK, so let's at least start to look at the true fact (and disprove your "alternative facts).
There have been several major wars been Israel and the Arab states. Depending upon how you define it, the number might change slightly, but IIRC there have been 5 major ones. Borders shifted, in some cases back and forth. Some involved relatively small amounts of land.
But the biggest Israel Occupation by far was that of the Egyptian Sinai, which Israel occupied as a result of their stunning defeat of the military forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and lebanon (assisted by Libya. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Sudan, and the Pl).
As a result of the war, Israel occupied the Egyptian Sinai-- an area about 2 1/2X the size of the entire country of Israel. In addition to its tremendous strategic importance, oil had been discovered there. (No where near as much as in tghe oil rich Arab states such as S. Arabia, Iraq, etc-- but it was still significant. In addition, iots waters offer some of the best dive spots in the world.
So if what you claim is true:
Israel has always been committed to absorbing the occupied territories as a permanent part of Israel on the map, like they never existed as occupied territories
One would assume that as a result Israel annexed this huge area and made it a permanent part of Israel. Like it never existed as an occupied terrritory. What is a total falsehood-- plain and simple.
But in fact, what you said about what Israel has done with occupied territories is not true-- Israel voluntarily ended the occupation of the Sinai &returned it to Egypt!
And they only got one thing in return-- after all those years of refusing to, Egypt finally signed a peace treaty with Israel. (Because Israel didn't want to "absorb" the Sinai and make it part of Israel as you so falsely claim!!! Rather they wanted peace with Egypt-- and quite willingly eneded the occupation in return for what they really wanted-- peace!
(Next -- what happened with perhaps the next most important occupied territories-- Gaza and the West BanK)
A major factor is that what is conquered in a defensive war becomes the lands of the defending conquerer, besides the fact that if Judea and Sameria belong to anyone other than Israel, they belong to Jordan, and Jordan has abandoned them.
Oh nonsense. The "Palestinians" also known as HAMAS do not want a two state solution either and never have. All they want is the eradication of Israel.