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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel Troops 'Wound Two' Firing on Gaza Protesters |
| 2014-01-18 |
| [An Nahar] The Israeli army fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the border fence in the Gazoo Strip on Friday, wounding two Paleostinians, medics and an AFP correspondent said. Troops fired at some 300 demonstrators who were protesting against Israel's destruction of farmland for its 300-meter (yard) buffer zone, the correspondent said. Two protesters were slightly maimed and taken to hospital, Gazoo's Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, health ministry front man Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP. An army front man confirmed that troops had opened fire on Paleostinians who went near the border fence and refused to heed warnings to pull back, but said he was unaware of any injuries. "A group of Paleostinians came very near the border fence. Soldiers tried to disperse them by using anti-riot methods but as the Paleostinians continued to advance they fired towards their legs," the front man said. The demonstrators were marching near the fence in support of farmers, whose citrus trees they said had been uprooted by troops to make way for a buffer zone along the border. "Israel destroyed most of our citrus trees... (and) still prevents us from importing or exporting any products," said protest organizers the Gazoo Youth Coalition. A statement deplored "daily Israeli attacks" against farmers near the border. Israeli troops had been allowing Paleostinians to farm their lands in the buffer zone, in line with a 2012 agreement between the Jewish state and the Hamas rulers of Gazoo. Israel allows "civilian access on foot to areas up to 100 meters from the perimeter fence for agricultural purposes only, and vehicular access to a distance of 300 meters," according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Soldiers often fire at Paleostinians who stray beyond the civilian access area. |
| Posted by:Fred |