Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians at Gaza border

Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians at Gaza border

2011-02-17 21:46:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

GAZA (BNO NEWS) -- Israeli soldiers on Thursday killed three Palestinian men in the northern Gaza Strip, a statement from the Israeli military said.

"Overnight, an IDF force identified a number of Palestinian militants approaching the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip, in an attempt to plant explosive devices. Thwarting the attempt, the force fired at the militants, hitting three of them," the statement said.

Relatives, however, said that all three men, who were in their 20s, were fishers and they were unarmed, Ma'an News Agency reported.

There were no claims of responsibility from any militant Palestinian group.

During 2010, approximately 100 different terror-related incidents took place near the security fence surrounding the Gaza Strip, an average of an incident every three days, according to the Israeli military.

According to a report issued on Thursday by the Palestinian Ministry of Information, Israeli troops arrested 32 Palestinian children from the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the first two weeks of February. Furthermore, 15 children were injured by settler attacks in the West Bank in the same period, Palestine News Network reported.

The report noted that 320 children remain in Israeli military detention, facing torture and blackmail by Israeli interrogators.

More than 50 Palestinians, including 12 civilians, were killed by Israeli troops near the border in 2010, according to the UN.

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