[caption id="attachment_177578" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
Khan Younis : Palestinian protesters evacuate a wounded youth during clashes with Israeli troops along Gaza's border with Israel, east of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Friday, April 20, 2018. Thousands of Palestinians joined the fourth weekly protest on Gaza's border with Israel on Friday, some burning tires or flying kites with flaming rags dangling from their tails. Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops firing from across the border fence, health officials said. AP/PTI Photo(AP4_20_2018_000171B)[/caption]
Gaza City(Palestinian Territories), April 20 (PTI/AFP): Thousands protested along the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel in a fourth straight Friday of mass demonstrations and clashes today, with two Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces.
Gazans also flew dozens of kites near the border fence, in some cases carrying Molotov cocktails, in a new tactic that had led to at least a couple of small fires in Israeli territory this week.
The latest deaths brought the toll of those killed by Israeli forces since March 30 to 36, with hundreds also wounded since then, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Some 83 more were injured today, the ministry said.
Israel says it has only opened fire when necessary to guard its border and prevent violence, but no Israelis have been wounded and its open-fire rules have come under scrutiny.
With the border protests posing a challenge to Israeli security forces, military aircraft dropped leaflets in the border area early Friday warning against approaching the fence.
Referring to the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, the leaflet said: “You are participating in violent riots. The Hamas terror organisation is taking advantage of you in order to carry out terror attacks.”
It added: “Stay away from the fence and do not attempt to harm it; avoid using weapons and committing violent acts against Israeli security forces and Israeli citizens.”
Both Palestinians killed were shot east of Jabaliya in the north of the Gaza Strip, the health ministry said.
Israeli forces were using tear gas in addition to live fire.
Israel’s military said some 3,000 Palestinians were involved in “riots, attempting to approach the security infrastructures, burning tyres adjacent to it and attempting to fly kites with burning items attached” to them.
He added that “behind it stands a determined people that is backing up the army.”
Tens of thousands have gathered on previous Fridays as part of the protests near the border. The protests are meant to last six weeks, but peak on Fridays.
A smaller number have approached the fence and thrown stones or rolled burning tyres toward Israeli soldiers on the other side of the heavily guarded fence.
Israel says firebombs and explosive devices have also been used.
It accuses Hamas, with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of using the protests as cover to carry out violence.
Palestinians say protesters are being shot while posing no threat to soldiers.
The European Union and UN chief Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation into the deaths, but Israel has rejected it. The protests are calling for Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to their former lands now inside Israel.
More than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled during the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel.
