Palestinian killed on Gaza border in clashes with the IDF
According to Palestinian reports, 25-year-old man from Deir al-Balah shot in the chest east of Bureij, succumbing to his injuries shortly thereafter; clashes resume on Gaza border, with Palestinians throwing stones and burning tires near border fence.
A Palestinian man was killed Tuesday afternoon on the Gaza border in clashes with IDF soldiers, making him the 18th casualty of the Hamas-led "March of Return" protests.
According to Palestinian reports, 25-year-old Ahmed Omar Arafa from Deir al-Balah was shot in the chest east of Bureij, succumbing to his injuries shortly thereafter.
"He was standing next to me; he posed no danger to them but they killed him," his father, Omar Arafa, told Reuters.
Palestinians have been throwing stones and burning tires in several locations along the Gaza border on Thursday afternoon.
Earlier, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that those who approach the border will endanger their lives, warning Hamas against what he called "continued provocation."
"We have established clear ground rules and we do not intend to change them," Lieberman said during a visit to an Israeli communal farm near Gaza. "Anyone who approaches the border is putting his life in danger."
"This was a well-organized provocation by Hamas's armed wing in an attempt to harm our sovereignty, to disrupt daily life and to disturb Israelis on their Seder (traditional Passover meal) night. We are doing what we must do," Lieberman added.
The defense minister has characterized most of those killed last week as "terrorists that we know well who are active in the armed wing of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. They were not innocent civilians who were part of a civil protest".
Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas official, said mass protests would continue as planned, despite Lieberman's threats.
He said the Israeli defense minister's latest comments should be seen as "more evidence of a war crime he (Lieberman) committed in Gaza last Friday."
Last Friday, thousands of Palestinians marched near the border fence between Israel and Gaza, many gathering around tent encampments set up several hundred meters (yards) from the frontier. Smaller groups moved closer to the fence, throwing stones, hurling Molotov cocktails or burning tires. IDF troops were lined up on the other side of the fence, including snipers perched on high earth embankments overlooking Gaza.
Palestinian health officials have said 16 Palestinians were killed that day, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas.
More than 750 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, according to Gaza health officials. The IDF has said the figure was overblown and that dozens, at most, were injured by live rounds.
Israeli officials have said soldiers in the border area had orders to target the "main instigators" and those who approach the border.
Also on Tuesday, the international group Human Rights Watch accused Lieberman and other senior Israeli officials of unlawfully calling for the use of live fire against Palestinian protesters who posed no imminent threat to life.
The group said Israel has presented no evidence that rock-throwing or other violence seriously threatened the soldiers on the other side of the fence.
"The high number of deaths and injuries was the foreseeable consequence of granting soldiers leeway to use lethal force outside of life-threatening situations in violation of international norms, coupled with the longstanding culture of impunity within the Israeli army for serious abuses," the group said.
In Gaza, protest organizers also prepared for the next confrontation. Plans were circulated on social media to burn large numbers of tires on Friday, in hopes that thick black smoke would block the view of Israeli snipers. Others suggested trying to disrupt the vision of soldiers with mirrors and use laser pointers to distract snipers.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, said Tuesday on his Facebook page that Israel "has proof the Hamas terror organization is forcing bus companies in the strip to transport rioters and Hamas members to the sites of the violent clashes on the security fence. Not only that, Hamas even threatens with weapons, imprisonment and even confiscation of buses if the companies don't obey."
"This is the true faces of the terror organization, which claims the violent protests are spontaneous and each person has a choice whether or not to participate," Mordechai added.
Hamas has said the border protests would continue until May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel's creation. Palestinians mourn the date as the anniversary of their "nakba," or "catastrophe" when hundreds of thousands were uprooted from what is now Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
