Page 10 - aruba-today-20180414

A10 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 14 april 2018
Officials: 1 Palestinian killed, 223 wounded by Israeli fire

By FARES AKRAM and MO-
HAMMED DARAGHMEH,
Associated Press
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)
— Thousands of Palestin-
ians, some burning Israeli
flags and torching tires,
staged a mass protest on
Gaza’s sealed border with
Israel for a third consecu-
tive Friday, as part of a pres-
sure campaign to break a
decade-old blockade of
their territory.
Israeli live fire from across
the border fence killed
a 28-year-old Palestinian
man and wounded at least
223, Gaza health officials
said. The death brought to
28 the number of protest-
ers killed in two weeks, with
more than 1,500 wounded
by Israeli fire since March
30, they said.
The marches have been or-
ganized by Gaza’s Hamas
rulers, but large turnouts
on two preceding Fridays
were also driven by des-
peration among the ter-
ritory’s 2 million residents Palestinian protesters evacuate a wounded man during a protest at the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel, Friday, April 13, 2018.
who have been enduring a Associated Press
crippling border closure by lethal force against un- to tug at the coils. One man gathered Friday at one tants engaged in apparent
Israel and Egypt since 2007. armed protesters. threw a burning tire into the of the tent camps, east of attempts to carry out at-
“We want to live like ev- Israel has accused Gaza’s fence, while another was Gaza City. The camp was tacks or infiltrate Israel.
eryone else in the world,” Islamic militant Hamas rul- seen walking nearby with decked out in Palestinian The Israeli military has ar-
said 37-year-old construc- ers of using the protests as a the help of a crutch. flags. At the entrance, or- gued that Gaza militant
tion worker Omar Hamada, cover for attacks and says Gaza has endured a bor- ganizers had laid a large Is- groups are trying to turn the
an unemployed father of snipers only target the main der blockade by Israel and raeli flag on the ground for border area into a combat
eight. “We came here so “instigators.” Egypt since Hamas overran protesters to step on. zone, and said it has a right
the world can see us and On Friday, most of the the territory in 2007, a year Hamada, the construc- to defend its sovereign bor-
know that life here is miser- demonstrators assembled after winning Palestinian tion worker, was critical of der. Conricus said Friday
able, and that there should at five tent camps locat- parliament elections. Hamas, saying the group that the military is trying to
be a solution.” ed several hundred me- The blockade has driven has set back Gaza by de- minimize Palestinian casu-
On Friday, the turnout ters (yards) from the bor- Gaza deeper into poverty, cades, but added that alties, but hadn’t changed
seemed to be significantly der fence. Smaller groups with unemployment ap- “this is the reality and we open-fire regulations.
lower than on previous Fri- moved closer to the fence, proaching 50 percent and have to deal with it.” Yair Lapid, the leader of Is-
days — some 10,000 pro- throwing stones, torching electricity available for less Critics argue that Hamas’ rael’s centrist Yesh Atid par-
testers according to the tires and burning large Is- than five hours a day. refusal to disarm is a key ty, called Hamas a “despi-
Israeli military — raising raeli flags, U.S. flags, as well The marchers are protest- reason for the continued cable terror organization”
questions about the orga- as posters of Israel’s prime ing against the blockade, blockade. One path to- and accused it of exploit-
nizers’ goal of keeping the minister and defense minis- but are also asserting what ward lifting the blockade ing civilians. He said the
mass marches going until ter. Large plumes of black they say is a “right of return” would be to have Hamas’ Israeli military is “operating
mid-May. smoke from burning tires of Palestinian refugees and political rival, West Bank- against it (Hamas) with de-
Gaza’s Health Ministry said rose into the sky. their descendants to what based Palestinian President termination and according
that 969 people were hurt Israeli forces fired tear gas, is now Israel. Mahmoud Abbas, take to international law.”
Friday, including 223 by rubber-coated steel pel- Hamas leaders have sent over the Gaza govern- Human rights groups have
live fire and the rest by tear lets and live rounds. Military mixed signals about wheth- ment, but recent Egypt-led reiterated that soldiers can
gas, rubber-coated steel spokesman Lt. Col. Jona- er they plan an eventual talks on such a deal ap- only use lethal force if they
pellets or shrapnel. Fifteen than Conricus said that Pal- mass breach of the border pear to have run aground. face an apparent immi-
of the wounded were in estinians repeatedly tried to fence. The protests are to The debate over Israel’s nent threat to their lives.
serious conditions, includ- damage the border fence, culminate in a large rally on open-fire regulations has in- The Israeli rights group
ing a Gaza journalist. The throwing several explosives May 15, the 70th anniver- tensified with a rising num- B’Tselem said Friday that
count also included 67 mi- and fire bombs at it. sary of Israel’s creation. Pal- ber of dead and wounded open-fire policy must not
nors and 20 women, health Footage distributed by the estinians mourn the event since the first protests on be dictated by worst case
officials said. military showed an area of as their “nakba,” or catas- March 30. scenarios, such as a feared
Rights groups have de- the fence made up of sev- trophe, when hundreds of In all, 35 Palestinians were mass breach of the bor-
scribed the Israeli military’s eral layers of barbed wire thousands were uprooted killed in the past two weeks, der. “An order to open live
open-fire regulations as un- coils. Protesters stuck a Pal- in the 1948 war over Israel’s 28 during protests. Seven fire at unarmed protesters
lawful, saying they permit estinian flag into the fence creation. were killed in other circum- is manifestly unlawful,” it
soldiers to use potentially and affixed a rope, using it Several thousand people stances, including six mili- said.q