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Palestinians shot and wounded during Gaza border protests

February 24, 2018 at 10:57 am

Israeli occupation forces fire at unarmed Palestinian protesters in the besieged Gaza Strip on 12 January 2018 six weeks after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital [Mohamed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Israeli occupation forces shot and wounded 22 Palestinians during Friday protests near the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health in the enclave has announced.

According to a spokesman for the ministry, those who were wounded were from different parts of the besieged territory, with seven from Jabalia, six from Gaza City, four from Khan Younis and five from Al-Burij Refugee Camp. Ashraf Al-Qidra added that 16 of the protesters suffered “moderate” injuries.

They were shot when dozens of Palestinian headed to the border to protest against the ongoing siege and US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Israelis mobilised their occupation troops across the border, fearing a potential confrontation, Anadolu news agency reported.

Read: 6 Israel soldiers injured near Gaza

Such demonstrations have been held regularly ever since Trump’s Jerusalem announcement in December. UN officials have pointed out that the Israeli occupation forces have been using lethal force to deter these protests, even though the demonstrators are on the Palestinian side of the border.