Israeli forces kill three Gaza border protesters, wound 600 - medics

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

 

A wounded Palestinian falls on the ground during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest where Palestinians demand the right to return to their homeland, at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip, April 27, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

 

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot dead three protesters along the Gaza border on Friday, Gaza medics said, hours after the United Nations human rights chief criticised Israel for using "excessive force" against demonstrators.

 

Israeli troops have killed 41 Palestinians and wounded more than 5,000 others since Gaza residents began staging protests along the border fence on March 30 to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

 

The troops were holed up behind fortifications on their side of the 40km (25-mile) border fence and fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters at five locations on the Gazan side.

 

Gaza medical officials said two protesters who were struck by bullets were in critical condition in hospital and 600 others were wounded.

 

The Israeli military said 12,000-14,000 Gazans were participating in what it described as "riots," and that some had tried to breach the border into Israel. It said troops "had operated in accordance with the rules of engagement" to stop people crossing the border.

 

The Gaza health ministry said 200 were wounded by gun fire, including a Palestinian journalist who was hit in the foot by a bullet.

 

Dozens more, including four medics, were treated for gas inhalation, as Israeli forces showered the area with tear gas canisters from behind their fortifications in Israel.

 

Protesters hurled stones and rolled burning tyres toward the fence, and some attached cans of burning petrol to kites and flew them into Israeli territory.

 

Others cleared away barbed wire coils which Israeli troops had placed in Gazan territory overnight in a bid to create a buffer zone between protesters and the fence.

 

After dark, the Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets had struck six targets belonging to Hamas' naval force "in response to the terror activity and mass attempt to infiltrate into Israeli territory earlier today."

 

Hamas said two boats moored off the Gaza shore were hit, causing damage, but that no casualties were reported.

 

The protests come at a time of growing frustration for Palestinians as prospects for an independent Palestinian state look poor.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled for several years and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories have expanded.

 

In a statement, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein called the loss of life deplorable and said a "staggering number" of injuries had been caused by live ammunition.

 

Israel's foreign ministry had no immediate comment but the government has consistently said it is protecting its borders and that its troops are following rules of engagement.

 

Israel's U.N. envoy, Danny Danon, told the Security Council on Thursday that Hamas in Gaza was responsible for Palestinian casualties and that it was using innocent Palestinian women and children as human shields.

 

"The terrorists are hiding while allowing, even hoping, for their people to die. This is evil in its purest form," he said.

 

Hamas denies the Israeli accusations. "Danon's comments are an attempt to escape responsibility and to cover up for the execution of unarmed children and people by occupation soldiers," said Hamas official Mushir Al-Masri.

 

Named the 'Great March of Return', the protest action revives a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages which their families fled from, or were driven out of, when the state of Israel was created in 1948. Israel refuses any right of return, fearing that the country would lose its Jewish majority.

 

More than 2 million Palestinians are packed into the narrow coastal enclave. Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintains tight control of its land and sea borders. Egypt also restricts movement in and out of Gaza on its border.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-28

 

 

Many times it takes "excessive" force to repel  violent out of  control  protestors .

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"The terrorists are hiding while allowing, even hoping, for their people to die.

This statement, apart from being an out and out lie, is vile in the extreme.

Danny Dannon shows what an evil zionist he is and is evil in its purest form.

Surely now is the time for the majority to rise up against the highly disproportionate use of force against the mainly unarmed Gazan people. They have  a right to resist the oppressive occupier and to protest for their return to their lands.

And finally, do pray tell what is the Hamas "Naval Force" apart from a couple of old fishing boats?? 

2 hours ago, Elfin said:

This statement, apart from being an out and out lie, is vile in the extreme.

Danny Dannon shows what an evil zionist he is and is evil in its purest form.

Surely now is the time for the majority to rise up against the highly disproportionate use of force against the mainly unarmed Gazan people. They have  a right to resist the oppressive occupier and to protest for their return to their lands.

And finally, do pray tell what is the Hamas "Naval Force" apart from a couple of old fishing boats?? 

 

So how do you think the IDF should respond to a raging mob hurling stones, using sling shots, burning tyres and kite born petrol bombs?

 

Ask them nicely to behave?

 

You've got to be pretty naive to think Hamas aren't orchestrating this with the hope of lots of casualties to garner sympathy. How many of the dead and wounded are actually Hamas members I wonder? A standard terrorist ploy.

" How many of the dead and wounded are actually Hamas members I wonder?"

 

So who do you suggest they were?

I've been involved in protest movements in my life. Including some that have turned violent and into RIOTS with smashing up stuff and burning stuff (I wouldn't and didn't do that stuff myself but I happened to be there to express peaceful dissent). Now let's say there were protests at the white house that were turning regularly into riots and people were trying to storm through the fence with burning tires, and people were being shot and killed to repel them.

Well, I might go the first day thinking it might be a safe and peaceful place to express dissent. But once I realize it was always going to be a riot scene and some protesters were definitely going to be hurt and killed, I would skip it.

These protesters (RIOTERS actually) are actually like morons unable to learn simple life lessons. How bad is the Hamas led education system there that their youth are unable to learn about consequences to actions. 

Have massive PEACEFUL protests well away from the border. The international press will cover those and cover them sympathetically and positively. At this point, these protesters (RIOTERS) have lost all credibility. Storming the border, what's the point? Suicide is STUPID. 

Edited April 28, 20188 yr by Jingthing

2 hours ago, Elfin said:

They have  a right to resist the oppressive occupier and to protest for their return to their lands.

Although they do not have the right to invade Israel or to attack Israel or to enter Israel illegally .

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

I've been involved in protest movements in my life. Now let's say there were protests at the white house that were turning regularly into riots and people were trying to storm through the fence with burning tires, and people were being shot and killed to repel them....................

Onlu "Martyrdom " will guarantee them an entrance to heaven with 72 virgins

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine can be summed up by one word - Racism.

 

Israel's decades-long war against Palestinians - murdering them, locking them up, bombing their houses and hospitals into rubble, and generally ensuring they live in a jail-like environment, makes it almost unnecessary to explain further why this country is on the list of most racist countries. Israel has a long history of also committing serious crimes against Israeli Arabs. Between March 2014 and February 2015, Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed nine “racially discriminatory” laws, according to a report by the Coalition Against Racism in Israel. The same report recorded 66 cases of alleged racial discrimination committed by private citizens. The overwhelming majority of cases cited in the report allegedly targeted Arab Israelis, followed by Ethiopians.

 

And the USA - Israels champion - is ranked #1. Hmmmm - coincidence ?

 

https://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/The-Top-12-Most-Racist-Countries-in-the-World-20150320-0019.html

2 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine can be summed up by one word - Racism.

 

The "racism" accusation has been well over used recently , it has little effect nowadays , people just called everything they disagreed with as being "racist"

   Its so over used and wrongly used that people just yawn nowadays, when its mentioned  

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

So how do you think the IDF should respond to a raging mob hurling stones, using sling shots, burning tyres and kite born petrol bombs?

As Dexterm has recently pointed out, there are other methods of crowd control without using live ammunition-such as rubber bullets, stun grenades etc.

This is mainly a peaceful protest rather than your emotive "raging crowd". Tell me the last time an IDF member was killed by a hurled stone? I can tell you the last time an unarmed Gazan civilian was killed by a live bullet-TODAY!

And not just ordinary bullets-explosive bullets nevertheless.

Edited April 28, 20188 yr by Elfin

33 minutes ago, sanemax said:

The "racism" accusation has been well over used recently , it has little effect nowadays , people just called everything they disagreed with as being "racist"

   Its so over used and wrongly used that people just yawn nowadays, when its mentioned  

Sometimes it is accurate, as here. In fact it's worse than racism, it's supremacism: they think they are God's Chosen People. (Personally I think they are superior in their social organisation, though some would call it odiousness of cosmic proportions to enshrine their sense of superiority in their religion.)

 

Palestine is a long game that will take generations of time to play out. Gaza is deliberately being managed by Israel as a concentration camp to better contain, identify and then eradicate the militant element - that's exactly what we see happening with these killings. Eventually, the emasculated and defeated Palestinian poplution will be absorbed. It's a highly managed process.

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

Although they do not have the right to invade Israel or to attack Israel or to enter Israel illegally .

So if they're not doing any of those things shouldn't Israel be condemned for using snipers to shoot Palestinian that are walking away from the border?

Edited April 28, 20188 yr by midas

24 minutes ago, CharlesSwann said:

Sometimes it is accurate, as here. In fact it's worse than racism, it's supremacism: they think they are God's Chosen People. (Personally I think they are superior in their social organisation, though some would call it odiousness of cosmic proportions to enshrine their sense of superiority in their religion.)

 

Palestine is a long game that will take generations of time to play out. Gaza is deliberately being managed by Israel as a concentration camp to better contain, identify and then eradicate the militant element - that's exactly what we see happening with these killings. Eventually, the emasculated and defeated Palestinian poplution will be absorbed. It's a highly managed process.

Using the "chosen people" trope is a CLASSIC ploy of antisemites for thousands of years. Israel needed to exist in the first place because of hate inspiring tropes like that but you can't help yourself, can you? Please leave your disgusting Jew hating rhetoric out of this, OK? You think you can post such hate speech garbage without pushback? Nope. 

 

Sure, talk about current events.

Sure, talk about how history brought us here.

Sure, criticize Israel. (I certainly do.)

But when your rhetoric bleeds into promoting vicious antisemitic tropes, you have crossed the line.

The "chosen people" thing which is a thing in the RELIGION of Judaism has nothing to do with asserting racial superiority. Also, to add, Israel is not a theocracy and very many Jews are totally SECULAR.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitic_canard#Accusations_of_racism

 

 

 

Quote

 

According to a 1984 hearing record before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations in the US Congress concerning the Soviet Jewry,

"This vicious anti-Semitic canard, frequently repeated by other Soviet writers and officials, is based upon the malicious notion that the "Chosen People" of the Torah and Talmud preaches "superiority over other peoples", as well as exclusivity. This was, of course, the principal theme of the notorious Tsarist Protocols of the Elders of Zion.^[61]

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 20188 yr by Jingthing

13 minutes ago, midas said:

So if they're not doing any of those things shouldn't Israel be condemned for using snipers to shoot Palestinian that are walking away from the border?

I certainly would condemn shooting fleeing people in the back. I don't think anyone is saying that the IDF always behaves like angels. 

Edited April 28, 20188 yr by Jingthing

6 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I certainly would condemn shooting fleeing people in the back. I don't think anyone is saying that the IDF always behaves like angels. 

Whilst two wrongs do not make a right Hamas ensures the children, women and other vulnerable people are pushed onto the front line and used as human shields. Evidence also exists of  Hamas and other extremists shooting Palestinians to increase the body count

6 minutes ago, Swimman said:

Whilst two wrongs do not make a right Hamas ensures the children, women and other vulnerable people are pushed onto the front line and used as human shields. Evidence also exists of  Hamas and other extremists shooting Palestinians to increase the body count

Yes, also there is a Pallywood anti-Israel propaganda machine. I was only saying that shooting fleeing people in the back (when that actually happens) is not defensible.

52 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Using the "chosen people" trope is a CLASSIC ploy of antisemites for thousands of years. Israel needed to exist in the first place because of hate inspiring tropes like that but you can't help yourself, can you? Please leave your disgusting Jew hating rhetoric out of this, OK? You think you can post such hate speech garbage without pushback? Nope. 

 

Sure, talk about current events.

Sure, talk about how history brought us here.

Sure, criticize Israel. (I certainly do.)

But when your rhetoric bleeds into promoting vicious antisemitic tropes, you have crossed the line.

The "chosen people" thing which is a thing in the RELIGION of Judaism has nothing to do with asserting racial superiority. Also, to add, Israel is not a theocracy and very many Jews are totally SECULAR.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitic_canard#Accusations_of_racism

 

 

 

Research I saw demonstrated that most Jews in Israel (I think it was two-thirds) consider themselves, as a race, the Chosen People. No doubt others are too modest to make the claim, but the fact it, is it stated clearly in the most sacred scriptures. 

 

The discussion is relevant to finding a way forward in Palestine, given that any solution requires empathy for the indigenous population.

 

I don't hate Jews - I object to Israel policy in Palestine, and if that is founded on religious convictions, then I object to that too. You, on the other hand, hate, on a personal level, everyone who raises any objective fact about Jews. You will kindly cease accusations of a personal nature.

58 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, also there is a Pallywood anti-Israel propaganda machine.

Equal if not more so the Pro Israel lobby.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

 Please leave your disgusting Jew hating rhetoric out of this, OK?

No one saying Jewish people - the discussion is about Israel

But then this card is always played - condemn Israel and the outcry starts - you hate Jews !

Pure, Unadulterated, Complete and Utter Nonsense.

I do not Hate anybody.

2 hours ago, CharlesSwann said:

Research I saw demonstrated that most Jews in Israel (I think it was two-thirds) consider themselves, as a race, the Chosen People. No doubt others are too modest to make the claim, but the fact it, is it stated clearly in the most sacred scriptures. 

 

The discussion is relevant to finding a way forward in Palestine, given that any solution requires empathy for the indigenous population.

 

I don't hate Jews - I object to Israel policy in Palestine, and if that is founded on religious convictions, then I object to that too. You, on the other hand, hate, on a personal level, everyone who raises any objective fact about Jews. You will kindly cease accusations of a personal nature.

If you REALLY aren't an antisemite "kindly" desist from posting ancient and false antisemitic tropes. But you obviously won't. You know nothing about the religious meaning of the chosen people thing but you insist on using it as a weapon against Jewish people (secular and religious) as Jew haters have done for thousands of years. I realize many people are taught such garbage as kids. Bloody grow up! You can't reasonably maintain that you aren't a Jew hater and continue to post classic anti-semitic tropes. Also don't bother giving me orders. I called you out on your hate speech and you doubled down. That's even worse. You could have manned up and admitted you have something to learn about how the trope you used has been a weapon of hate, apologized, and moved on. But no. 

You know, sometimes we can't tell about what is in people's hearts here, but sorry, people that spread antisemite tropes and act like that's OK have given up the game. 

Edited April 28, 20188 yr by Jingthing

4 hours ago, Swimman said:

Whilst two wrongs do not make a right Hamas ensures the children, women and other vulnerable people are pushed onto the front line and used as human shields. Evidence also exists of  Hamas and other extremists shooting Palestinians to increase the body count

Swimman this sounds like hysterical pro-semetic lies. Can you provide links to this "evidence"?

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

You could have manned up and admitted you have something to learn about how the trope you used has been a weapon of hate, apologized, and moved on.

That's very condescending of you JT. As if 

Just now, Elfin said:

Swimman this sounds like hysterical pro-semetic lies. Can you provide links to this "evidence"?

I never respond to requests from those who make accusations of hysteria or of lying -- The evidence is out there go and find it for yourself.

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I was only saying that shooting fleeing people in the back (when that actually happens) is not defensible.

So what punishment should these gutless snipers get? One month's demotion with gardening leave? That is a typical punishment for the most immoral army in the world.

If it was a Palestimian who shot a jew, there would be an execution at point blank range.

11 minutes ago, Swimman said:

I never respond to requests from those who make accusations of hysteria or of lying -- The evidence is out there go and find it for yourself.

Who the hell are you?? If you can't back up your accusations then don't write anything at all.

5 minutes ago, Elfin said:

Who the hell are you?? If you can't back up your accusations then don't write anything at all.

 I am a person who is not rude toward others -- I do not use emotive words like 'hell', 'lying' etc

I think this "conversation" has reached its end.

Edited April 28, 20188 yr by Swimman
spelling

11 minutes ago, Swimman said:

 I am a person who is not rude toward others -- I do not use emotive words like 'hell', 'lying' etc

I think this "conversation" has reached its end.

Well, you were rude to me but you can't see that. Why don't you chill out and go for a swim, man?

Now back to the topic please.

One off-topic post has been removed.   Simply posting a meme without comment really doesn't quite rise to the level of a comment.  

There are non military related farms, homes, schools, hospitals and other residential related occupancies in close proximity to the border fence. The fence is there because arabs have crossed over and murdered Israelis. The land is uncontested and is not part of Gaza or the west bank. 

The arabs, many of whom are armed are seeking to cross through the  border and to invade into sovereign Israeli territory, land to which the arabs have no legal claim or right to enter. They are doing this through violent means.

 

And some condemn Israel for defending itself? Brilliant.