Israeli troops fire straight rounds at the protesting Palestinians on Gaza border
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JERUSALEM - Israeli troops fired tear gas and live rounds at Palestinians thronging the Gaza-Israel border on Friday as part of a long-running protest, injuring about 30 people.
Medics said 10 people were shot and wounded and 20 more treated for gas inhalation on the Palestinian side of the 25-mile (40 km) border fence, where Gazans set up tent encampments on March 30 for what they call “The Great March of Return”.
Youths rolled burning tires to within 500 meters (yards) of the fence, using the smoke as a screen to counter Israeli sharpshooters on the other side. At least 43 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army gunfire in the last month.
Protestors said they used slingshots to down a small Israeli observation drone overhead.
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An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
As Israel celebrates its 70th birthday, Palestinians mourn what they call the “Nakba” (Catastrophe) of their people’s mass-dispossession during the conflict that broke out in 1948.
Two-thirds of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians are war refugees or their descendants. The Gaza protests have seen thousands gather - in greater numbers on Fridays - to demand access to their families’ lost homes or lands, now in Israel.
