Scores of Israelis have called for Israeli playwright and author, Yehoshua Sobol, to be expelled to the Gaza Strip following his support for the Palestinian Great March of Return.
“If I were a Palestinian child from Gaza, I would send burning kites to burn the surrounding settlements,” Sobol said.
Sobol’s remarks were met with a barrage of criticism and insults on Israeli websites, with some accusing him of treason.
Palestinians launched the Great March of Return on Land Day, 30 March, to protest against the 11-year siege on the Strip, to call for their right of return to their ancestral homes and against the relocation of the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem.
Poll: 61% of Israel supports military response to Gaza protests
More than 120 Palestinians were killed during the peaceful protests as they were met with Israeli use of live fire and tear gas to disperse them.
Israel has accused kites flying from Gaza during the recent Great March of Return of sparking wildfires in southern Israel, although there has been no proof that they have been the cause.
On Sunday, Netanyahu demanded that $1.4 million worth of funds be withheld from the Palestinian Authority (PA) as compensation for damage to crops reportedly caused by the kites. The Israeli government has offered 60 shekels ($17) per dunam (about a quarter acre) in damages to farmers in the region, with anyone whose fields have been damaged are to be considered terrorism victims.
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