ISRAELI SECURITY FORCES REPONDED APPROPRIATELY AGAINST PALESTINIAN ROCK THROWERS

UN Secretary-General calls for probe into deadly Gaza clash

By Mehul Srivastava

Financial Times
March 31, 2018

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an independent investigation after at least 16 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces on Friday as Hamas began a six-week protest along Gaza’s border with Israel, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Security Council members have urged restraint on both sides, but have not decided on any action or joint message after an emergency meeting.

The unrest erupted after 17,000 Gazans responded to a call by Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls the strip, to mass by the border in the weeks leading up to the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel. The protest is dubbed the “March of Return” and was called to demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to homes that fall within Israeli borders.

Gazans said the demonstration — one of the biggest along the border in years — became violent after small groups of youths broke away from the main crowd and threw rocks at Israeli forces and burnt tires at the border fence. Israeli forces used live fire and “riot dispersal” means against the protesters, the Israel Defense Forces said. It also deployed tanks along the border and used earth movers to create temporary barriers.

Lt Gen Gadi Eisenkot, the Israeli army chief of staff, warned on Wednesday that he had placed more than 100 snipers along the border with Gaza and would authorise them to use live fire if protesters appeared to breaching the fence around the hemmed in strip.

“If there will be a danger to lives, we will authorise live fire,” Lt Gen Eisenkot told local media ahead of the protests. “The orders are to use a lot of force.”

The Palestinian health ministry said at least 1,100 people were wounded by rubber coated steel pellets, live fire and tear gas, but did not provide any breakdown of injuries. Television images showed clouds of tear gas, localised riots and heavily armed Israeli soldiers along the border fence.

The Israeli army blamed Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US and much of the western world, for the violence.

“The Hamas terror organisation cynically exploits women and children, sending them to the security fence and endangering their lives,” a military spokesperson said on Twitter.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the protests were aimed at rekindling the demands for a “right to return”, which Israel has consistently rejected.

“We are here to declare today that our people will not agree to keep the ‘right of return’ only as a slogan,” Mr Haniyeh said at one of the tented cities set up ahead of the protests.

Palestinians mark March 30 as “Land Day” to commemorate the 1976 shootings of six Arab protesters who were killed when the Israeli government appropriated thousands of acres of land in northern Israel for state use.

These protests coincided with the start of Jewish holiday of Passover, a time when Israeli forces are typically on high alert.

Gaza, an impoverished enclave that is home to 2m people, is often a source of tension with Israel. Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since 2009.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As I’ve said several times before, thrown rocks can cause serious injuries, even death. Accordingly, meeting deadly force with deadly force is absolutely appropriate.