As Israel intensifies violence and uncoordinated multiple daily attacks are carried out by Palestinians, youth in Gaza have begun marching to the borders to express solidarity and their frustration.
Yesterday, Israeli soldiers clad in full combat gear shot protestors and occasionally fired tear gas canisters into the crowd of an estimated 1,000 young men and boys, killing seven and injuring 145 along Gaza’s border area. Layers of barbed wire and open space separated the soldiers from the protestors who threw rocks they found on the ground and molotov cocktails. Additional military installations and dirt mounds protected Israeli snipers as they picked off one protestor after the next with Ruger .22 rifles, hitting them in the head, chest, abdomen and limbs. Soldiers also fired explosive dum-dum rounds according to medical sources in Gaza. At no point did the protestors present any threat to the heavily armed soldiers. At least one protestor managed to plant a flag on the barbed wire.
Today, Israeli forces shot dead two children aged 13 and 15 as protests continue. Attacks were again reported at the Nahal Oz crossing east of Gaza City, east of Khan Younis, in the northern area of Beit Hanoun and at the Erez border crossing. THe demonstrations today reportedly drew smaller numbers than yesterday and Hamas security forces prevented some protestors from reaching the border area.
Israeli defense minister Moshe Ya’alon blamed his military’s killing of protestors on Hamas, saying that they didn’t prevent protestors from reaching the so-called “buffer zone,” a loosely interpreted three hundred meter stretch of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip from the border. He then threatened to escalate violence, referring to the 2014 massive assault on the Gaza Strip which killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
While Israeli officials claim to not want an escalation – the military refrained from customary bombing of Hamas training sites after one rocket launched from Gaza landed inside Israel overnight – its forces continue to escalate violence by killing Palestinian children and unarmed civilians.
The front page of Google News features a headline and opening sentence from NYTimes, which has/provides a different perspective:
“The Latest: Dozens Briefly Enter Israel From Gaza
New York Times – 1 hour ago
JERUSALEM – The latest developments in ongoing violence between Palestinians and Israelis (all times local): ___. 9:00 p.m.. The Israeli military says dozens of Palestinians breached the heavily-guarded border with Gaza and briefly entered Israel.”
“Additional military installations and dirt mounds protected Israeli snipers as they picked off one protestor after the next with Ruger .22 rifles, hitting them in the head, chest, abdomen and limbs. Soldiers also fired explosive dum-dum rounds according to medical sources in Gaza. At no point did the protestors present any threat to the heavily armed soldiers. At least one protestor managed to plant a flag on the barbed wire.”
The IOF are war criminals and cowards.
“US refuses to label Israeli attacks on Palestinians ‘terror’
The State Department said Friday that recent attacks by Palestinians against Israelis are “acts of terror” but failed to apply the same standard when violence is committed against Palestinians by Israelis.
“We would consider these violent acts [by Palestinians] that we’re talking about specifically here as acts of terror,” spokesman John Kirby said in response to a question about violence…
But when asked whether he also considered to be terrorist acts the stabbing of a Palestinian by a 17-year-old Israeli in the city of Dimona, Kirby brushed it aside and said he was not aware of the incident.
“I don’t have the details on that, so I’d really rather not get into this event by event,” he said.
“But we do consider these particular acts of violence that we’ve seen – the stabbings and the killings there particularly in East Jerusalem – as terror,” he said, referring to attacks by Palestinians while being careful not to label Israeli attacks as “terror”.
He added, however, that “all the violence needs to stop and calm should be restored”.
In the last seven days, several violent clashes have erupted between Palestinian youth and Israeli troops in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
At least 1,600 Palestinians have been injured during clashes with Israelis since Oct. 3, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/americas/21559-us-refuses-to-label-israeli-attacks-on-palestinians-terror
Sleep tight, America. The US is hugely complicit in and responsible for this ongoing genocide of the people of Palestine.
Thanks for the article, Dan.
A bad time for a Palestinian uprising, they have no leaders, Abbas is a traitor. The rest of the Arab world is in turmoil, with El Sisi and the Saudi King probably backing the Israelis. It is brave but futile and stupid for dozens of youths to throw stones at heavily protected tanks and troops who have already been given the orders to shoot to kill. An uprising must have the capacity to inflict costs on the occupier, and as the last massacre in Gaza proved the cost/benefit calculation was too one sided. 7,000 Hamas rockets fired on Israel with approx 2, yes two hitting anything, the other 6,998 just blew up the desert. This gave all and sundry, including Obama the excuse that Israel had the right to defend themselves. And how they did, over 2,000 Palestinian dead including 500 children and 7 billion dollars destruction. Professor Finkelstein in his study of that massacre said that 20,000 Palestinian homes had been destroyed and only 1 Israeli home. The Palestinians have had a long time to plan and organize an uprising, they have neither the leadership nor the wherewithal at this time to confront the ruthless Israelis, I hope they ponder on their predicament and choose a more propitious time for it. At the moment the ‘arc of resistance’ Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon with the help of Russia are wiping the floor with the US backed Dictators and their Al Qaeda/Al Nusra supporters. The ‘arc of resistance’ are strong supporters of the Palestinians, surely it would be better for the Palestinians to wait for backing.
RE: “Yesterday, Israeli soldiers clad in full combat gear shot protestors and occasionally fired tear gas canisters into the crowd of an estimated 1,000 young men and boys, killing seven and injuring 145 along Gaza’s border area. Layers of barbed wire and open space separated the soldiers from the protestors who threw rocks they found on the ground and molotov cocktails. Additional military installations and dirt mounds protected Israeli snipers as they picked off one protestor after the next with Ruger .22 rifles, hitting them in the head, chest, abdomen and limbs.” ~ Dan Cohen
MY COMMENT: As far as Netanyahu is concerned, it is ‘open season’* on Palestinians! ! ! **
* open season: a specific season or time of year when it is legal to catch or hunt for fish or game protected at all other times by the law. – http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/open-season
** SEE: “Netanyahu: Stupid Like a Fox?”, By Uri Avnery, Antiwar.com, 06/13/11
SOURCE – http://original.antiwar.com/avnery/2011/06/12/netanyahu-stupid-like-a-fox/
So important to document the deadly brutality of Israeli soldiers. Dan and other camera person you are brave people.