Israel continued its violent repression of Palestinian protesters on Monday when Israeli soldiers once again gunned down unarmed demonstrators, killing 41 and wounding 1,700, after “small groups” of Palestinians allegedly threw stones at them.
According to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Israeli soldiers said they were “provoked into violence” when small groups of Palestinians began throwing stones at IDF soldiers from the other side of the border fence. The soldiers responded by gunning down demonstrators; by the time the demonstrations had quieted down, at least 28 Palestinians had been killed, and another 600 had been wounded, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.
Israeli military also claimed the protestors were trying to penetrate the border fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip.
According to RT, which translated the announcement, the total wounded include 74 children and 23 women, while a 12-year-old and 14-year-old were counted among the dead.
https://twitter.com/press221/status/996009491375251458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fnews%2F2018-05-14%2Fidf-kills-16-injures-600-gaza-us-celebrates-opening-jerusalem-embassy&tfw_site=zerohedge
ZeroHedge reports: They also issued a revised estimate of 35,000 for the number of protesters who gathered along 10 areas at the Gaza border fence.
Live bullets caused most of the injuries, while some 320 people were hit with teargas. The health ministry said Israel was deliberately targeting emergency health services and journalists, who were clearly marked.
Meanwhile, the IDF said fighter planes targeted Hamas outposts near the village of Jabalya after Israeli soldiers said they were fired on in the area.
In addition, IAF aircraft targeted Hamas military posts near the Jabalia area after IDF troops were fired upon from the northern Gaza Strip. No IDF soldiers were injured in the incident pic.twitter.com/EWHOAOzZcA
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 14, 2018
The Wall Street Journal reported that a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old had been counted among the dead.
At least 10,000 Palestinians had gathered early Monday local time along more than 10 locations along the border fence, which is one of several closed borders that has effectively cut off Gaza from the rest of the world (though Hamas has been known to dig tunnels to help people move in and out of the territory), Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
The international community has widely condemned President Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem (though, as Trump has correctly pointed out, every US president since at least Bill Clinton had promised to move the embassy). The UK reiterated Monday that it doesn’t intend to move its embassy, adding that it doesn’t agree with President Trump’s decision.
Since late March, Hamas has been organizing protests along the border fence as part of six weeks of protests meant to demand the long-sought “right of return” for Palestinians who were forced off their land by Jewish settlers during the genesis of the Israeli state.
On Monday, Israel is celebrating its 70th Independence Day. However, among Palestinians – many of whom are descendants of the Arabs who were forced off their land by the Israelis – the anniversary is known as the Nakba, or “catastrophe”.