Thousands of Palestinians were demonstrating along the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel Monday, with the Hamas-run health ministry saying some 30 people were injured in riots in several locations.
Protesters threw grenades, bombs and rocks and rolled burning tires toward the troops on the other side of the security fence, the army said.
Thousands of rioters clashed with Israeli troops along the northern Gaza border near Zikim beach, south of Ashkelon, the military said, and some managed to sabotage and remove a part of the fence.
Israeli soldiers responded with live fire in certain cases, as well as with less-lethal means, the military said.
Meanwhile, dozens of boats challenged the Israeli blockade and were intercepted by Israeli Navy boats.
Fathi Hamad, the Hamas terror group’s former interior minister in the Strip, spoke to protesters near the flotilla and called, “To all those who hesitate, take up arms and fight Israel in the West Bank,” Channel 10 news reported.
The flotilla marked 11 years since Israel imposed a blockade on the Palestinian enclave in 2007, after Hamas came to power there. Both Israel and Egypt enforce a number of restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza. Israel says the blockade is necessary to keep Hamas and other terror groups in the Strip from arming or building military infrastructure.
Meanwhile Israeli Fire and Rescue Services said Monday evening that they had far been called to extinguish one fire caused by an incendiary balloon flown into Israel from Gaza.
Border riots, dubbed the “Great March of Return,” have increased dramatically in recent weeks. They began as weekly events from late March through the summer, but appeared to slow as Hamas entered indirect talks with Israel aimed at a ceasefire.
As the talks have stalled, Hamas has increased the pace of rioting and demonstrations against Israel, and created new units tasked with sustaining tensions along the border fence including during nighttime and early morning hours.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned ministers that Israel is preparing for the possibility of a military campaign in the Gaza Strip should the humanitarian conditions in the territory cause border clashes to spiral out of control, Hadashot news reported.
Netanyahu spoke during the weekly cabinet meeting of the Palestinian Authority’s attempt to “choke” Gaza, according to the TV report, and said: “If the reality of civil distress in Gaza is diminished, that is desirable, but that is not certain to happen, and so we are preparing militarily — that is not an empty statement.”
Dozens of Palestinians marking 12 years since Israel imposed a blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip clashed with IDF troops Monday in the northern part of the enclave.
Several boats also joined the protests which took place near Zikim Beach south of Ashkelon, throwing stones and burning tires towards troops who responded with tear gas and crowd dispersal methods.
Several boats also joined the protests which took place near Zikim Beach south of Ashkelon, throwing stones and burning tires towards troops who responded with tear gas and crowd dispersal methods.
On Saturday, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman ordered the reduction of the Gaza fishing zone to six nautical miles following violent protests along the security fence with Israel on Friday.
The reducing of the fishing area from nine nautical miles was made following a security assessment made with the IDF, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon, and officials from the Shin Bet internal security services.
Earlier in the day the Israeli Navy detained a Palestinian boat which had exceeded the authorized fishing area authorized near the shores of northern Gaza. Two Palestinian brothers identified as Safwat and Rifaat Zayid were said to have been arrested while fishing off of the shores of al-Sudaniyya district in the northern Gaza Strip
The reducing of the fishing area from nine nautical miles was made following a security assessment made with the IDF, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon, and officials from the Shin Bet internal security services.
Earlier in the day the Israeli Navy detained a Palestinian boat which had exceeded the authorized fishing area authorized near the shores of northern Gaza. Two Palestinian brothers identified as Safwat and Rifaat Zayid were said to have been arrested while fishing off of the shores of al-Sudaniyya district in the northern Gaza Strip
In late September Abu Rokon warned Gazans residents against cooperating with Hamas, threatening to reduce the fishing zone three miles if the “daily terror attacks continue.”
Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed and thousands others wounded since the outbreak of the Gaza border protests which began on March 30 and which call for an end of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed and thousands others wounded since the outbreak of the Gaza border protests which began on March 30 and which call for an end of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians have also been launching incendiary aerial devices into southern Israel from the coastal enclave, burning more than 2,800 hectares of agricultural fields, forests and nature reserves.
On Monday, an incendiary balloon with a cigarette and fuse attached to it was found in the backyard of a residential home in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze’ev north of Jerusalem.
Police called to the scene collected evidence and sent the balloon to a laboratory for inspection. There were no casualties and no damage.
Incendiary balloons in the West Bank are believed to be launched from nearby Palestinian towns and villages.
While rare, an incendiary balloon was found in the Malha Mall parking lot in Jerusalem two weeks ago, and the next day another was found in Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion. Another incendiary balloon was found in a backyard in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood by four children.
On Monday, an incendiary balloon with a cigarette and fuse attached to it was found in the backyard of a residential home in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze’ev north of Jerusalem.
Police called to the scene collected evidence and sent the balloon to a laboratory for inspection. There were no casualties and no damage.
Incendiary balloons in the West Bank are believed to be launched from nearby Palestinian towns and villages.
While rare, an incendiary balloon was found in the Malha Mall parking lot in Jerusalem two weeks ago, and the next day another was found in Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion. Another incendiary balloon was found in a backyard in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood by four children.
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