Friday, April 29, 2016

GAZA
CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinian farmers and shepherds were forced to leave
their fields after coming under live Israeli fire in eastern Khan Younis
in the southern Gaza Strip early Friday, witnesses said.

Israeli
forces deployed on the borderline in the Khuzaa and al-Fakhari area of
eastern Khan Younis where they opened fire on farmers and shepherds
working in their fields, witnesses told Ma’an. The farmers and shepherds left the area following the shooting. No injuries were reported. An Israeli army spokesperson said they were looking into reports on the incident. The
Israeli army regularly opens fire on Palestinian fisherman and farmers
along the border areas of the besieged enclave, despite a ceasefire
agreement that ended Israel's 2014 offensive on the strip.The
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has documented
nearly 100 instances of Israeli forces opening fire on Palestinians in
the military-enforced "buffer zone" between the besieged enclave and
Israel, on both land and sea sides

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

GAZA
CITY (Ma’an) -- Israeli bulldozers leveled land east of al-Bureji
refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip Wednesday morning after crossing
through the border fence, witnesses said.
Witnesses told
Ma’an that four armored bulldozers escorted by Israeli military vehicles
crossed the border fence between Israel and the besieged enclave before
leveling land on the Palestinian side of the border, leaving shortly
after. No gunfire or injuries were reported. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an they were looking into the reports. Israeli
military incursions inside the besieged Gaza Strip and near the “buffer
zone" which lies on both land and sea sides of the strip, have long
been a near-daily occurrence.Palestinians who work near
the “buffer zone” between the Palestinian enclave and Israel often come
under fire from military forces, as the Israeli military has not made
clear the precise area of the designated zone. The Israeli
army regularly open fires on Palestinian fisherman and farmers along
the border areas, despite a ceasefire agreement that ended the 2014 war.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs reported last month at least 42 cases of Israeli forces opening
fire on Palestinians in the buffer zone, on both land and sea sides

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

GAZA
(Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Tuesday opened fire on Palestinian
fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip as military forces leveled
Palestinian land on the borderline with Israel, locals said.
Witnesses
told Ma’an that Israeli naval forces fired live ammunition at fishermen
working off the coast of al-Zahra area of central Gaza. No injuries
were reported.In the eastern area of the besieged enclave,
locals said Israeli bulldozers entered Palestinian land near
al-Shujaiyya and leveled the area.An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an they were looking into the reports.The
Israeli military enters Palestinian areas on both land and sea sides of
the Gaza Strip on a near-daily basis, often putting Palestinian
fishermen and farmers -- and their livelihoods -- at risk.While
Israeli authorities this month expanded the fishing zone designated for
Palestinian fishermen to nine nautical miles in the southern Gaza
Strip, and retained the six mile zone in the north, fishermen regularly
report detentions, live fire, and boat confiscation within these limits.The
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has documented
over 40 instances of Israeli incursions into the Gaza border area this
month alone.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

GAZA (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmers on Saturday morning in the southern Gaza Strip, locals said.
Witnesses
told Ma'an that Israeli forces stationed near the borderline along Khan
Yunis opened fire on agricultural lands where the farmers were working.
No injuries were reported.

An Israeli army spokesperson said they were looking into reports.

Israeli
military forces routinely enter the Gaza Strip near the “buffer zone,”
which lies on the border between the besieged enclave and Israel.

Israeli
military activities, which have become almost daily occurrences, often
interfere with Palestinian farmers whose land lies in the area.

Approximately
35 percent of Palestinian agricultural land in Gaza is inaccessible
without high personal risk, according to the Palestinian Center for
Human Rights.

The Israeli army says
the use of live fire is necessary to deter potential "security threats."
However, the practice has destroyed much of both the agricultural and
fishing sectors of the impoverished coastal enclave, which has been
under Israeli blockade for nearly a decade.

GAZA
(Ma'an) -- Five Palestinians were injured when clashes broke out across
the Gaza Strip on Friday night after Israeli forces attempted to
suppress weekly protests, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said.
One
Palestinian was injured with live fire, and two suffered from excessive
tear gas inhalation near the Nahal Oz crossing in the northeastern Gaza
Strip. Near the Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip,
two Palestinians suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation when
Israeli forces attempted to suppress a protest there.An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an they did not have information on clashes in the Gaza Strip Friday evening.Also on Friday, a Palestinian teenager was wounded
by a rubber-coated steel bullet and dozens others suffered excessive
tear gas inhalation when Israeli forces dispersed weekly protests across
the occupied West Bank.The clashes came amidst tightened
security measures implemented by the Israeli authorities for the Jewish
holiday of Passover. All crossings in the Gaza Strip and occupied West
Bank were closed to Palestinians beginning midnight Thursday, in effect
until midnight Saturday.Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
crowd near the borders with Israel every Friday to show solidarity with
what Palestinians in besieged coastal enclave have termed the “Jerusalem
Intifada” taking place in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.Nearly
30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip
since the unrest spread in October, the majority shot dead during
clashes on the Gaza-Israel border.More than 1,300
Palestinians have been injured by Israeli forces since the start of this
year, the majority during clashes that broke out with the Israeli
military during protests in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.Earlier this month, the US accused
Israel of an "excessive use of force" against Palestinians, amounting
to a violation of human rights, in its annual report of global human
rights abuses.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

GAZA
(Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Saturday opened fire on Palestinian
farmers and leveled lands in the southern Gaza Strip, locals said.
Witnesses told Ma’an Israeli forces opened fire on agricultural lands near the the village of Khuzaa east of Khan Yunis.In
the eastern side of the Rafah district of the southern Gaza Strip,
seven Israeli bulldozers leveled lands in the border area, continuing
excavation works that have been reported by locals in the area almost daily for the past two weeks.An
Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an Israeli forces fired warning shots
into the air after "two suspects breached the buffer zone" and the
suspects returned.Israeli military forces routinely enter
the Gaza Strip near the “buffer zone,” which lies on the border between
the besieged enclave and Israel.Israeli military
activities, which have become almost daily occurrences, often interfere
with Palestinian farmers whose land lies in the area. Approximately 35
percent of Palestinian agricultural land in Gaza is inaccessible without
high personal risk, according to the Palestinian Center for Human
Rights.The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs reported at least 30 incidents of Israeli military forces
opening fire in the "buffer zone" in the first week of April alone, in
two cases injuring Palestinians were were as far as 350 meters away from
the border.The Israeli army says the use of live fire is
necessary to deter potential "security threats." However, the practice
has destroyed much of both the agricultural and fishing sectors of the
impoverished coastal enclave, which has been under Israeli blockade for
nearly a decade.

Friday, April 15, 2016

BETHLEHEM
(MA'AN) -- At least three Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces
amid clashes across the Palestinian territory Friday, according to
Palestinian and Israeli sources.Medics told Ma’an Israeli forces shot and injured two Palestinians with live fire in eastern Gaza City.An
Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that two hits were made when
clashes broke out after dozens of "rioters" attempted to "damage the
security fence and infiltrate the buffer zone." Israeli forces responded by "firing shots toward the instigators,” she added.In
the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron, an Israeli army
vehicle ran over and injured a Palestinian teenager during clashes in
al-Arrub refugee camp. Local sources said an Israeli army
vehicle ran over Muhammad Nidhal Abu Ghazi,15, before youths took him in
a private car to a hospital in Hebron in moderate condition. Several people suffered from tear gas inhalation and were treated on the scene. The clashes in al-Arroub come after a Palestinian was shot and killed by
Israeli forces Thursday at the entrance of camp in the Hebron district,
after he reportedly attempted to attack a soldier with an ax.Two Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces in separate incidents in the area later the same evening.

Palestinians
in the Gaza Strip crowd near the borders with Israel every Friday to
show solidarity with what Palestinians in besieged coastal enclave have
termed the “Jerusalem Intifada” taking place in the occupied West Bank
and East Jerusalem.

More than 1,400 Palestinians have
been injured by Israeli forces since the start of this year, the
majority during clashes that broke out with the Israeli military during
protests in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

GAZA
CITY (Ma'an) -- Several Israeli bulldozers entered into the southern
Gaza Strip early Thursday and leveled land near the borderline, locals
said.
Witnesses told Ma'an that four Israeli military
bulldozers entered dozens of meters into the eastern Rafah district and
leveled lands near the border fence.They added that Israeli drones were flying above the area at the time. No shooting was reported.An Israeli army spokesperson said they were looking into the reports.Locals have reported incursions into the Rafah district by Israeli bulldozers and drones on a near-daily basis in the past ten days.While
the army typically cites “routine activity” in the Israeli-enforced
“buffer zone” along the border with Israel and off of Gaza’s coast,
forces often open fire on Palestinian farmers and fishermen working near
the zone.The UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs reported at least 30 incidents of Israeli military
forces opening fire in the "buffer zone" in the first week of April
alone, in two cases injuring Palestinians were were as far as 350 meters
away from the border.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

An Israeli D9 bulldozer rolls along the southern Israeli border with the Gaza Strip. (AFP/File)

GAZA
CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli bulldozers under the surveillance of Israeli
military drones razed Palestinian lands near Rafah in the southern Gaza
Strip on Tuesday for the seventh day in a row, locals said.Locals
told Ma’an that the bulldozers crossed through the borderline with
Israel into al-Nahda neighborhood of eastern Rafah as military drones
flew overhead.Several bulldozers also crossed from the
Kisufim military site into al-Qarrara in northeastern Khan Yunis and
leveled land in the area, witnesses said.An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an they were looking into the reports.Israeli
military forces enter the blockaded Gaza Strip on a near-daily basis,
often to the detriment of Palestinian locals who work near the border on
both land and sea sides.While the army typically cites
“routine activity” in the Israeli-enforced “buffer zone” along the
border with Israel and off of Gaza’s coast, forces often open fire on
Palestinian farmers and fishermen working near the zone.A
13-year-old Palestinian child was shot and injured by Israeli forces on
Monday while herding cattle in Hujr al-Dik area in the central Gaza
Strip on Monday, according to witnesses.The UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported at least 30 incidents
of Israeli military forces opening fire in the "buffer zone" in the
first week of April alone, in two cases injuring Palestinians were were
as far as 350 meters away from the border.The
Israeli army says the use of live fire is necessary to deter potential
"security threats." However, the practice has destroyed much of both the
agricultural and fishing sectors of the impoverished coastal enclave,
which has been under Israeli blockade for nearly a decade.

Monday, April 11, 2016

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Monday shot and injured a Palestinian boy in the central Gaza Strip.

Witnesses
told Ma'an that Israeli forces deployed near Hujr al-Dik area in
central Gaza Strip opened fire at a young teenager herding cattle,
injuring him in the foot. Medical sources identified him as Amir al-Tarabin,13, and said he was in moderate condition.An Israeli army spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Israeli
forces frequently open fire on Palestinians inside of or near a
military-imposed “buffer zone” on both land and seaside borders of the
besieged enclave.The exact limits of the zone are unclear
but enforced with live fire, putting the lives of Palestinian farmers
and fishermen who work near the border at risk. The
Israeli army says the use of live fire is necessary to deter potential
"security threats." However, the practice has destroyed much of both the
agricultural and fishing sectors of the impoverished coastal enclave,
which has been under Israeli blockade nearly nine years.

About this blog

This is a blog about Gaza farmers, workers and all the civilian population living in Gaza Strip rural communities along the Green Line, suffering from daily Israeli attacks and resisting the implementation of a so called "buffer zone" by the Israeli Occupation Forces.

Note: this blog is focusing on Israeli attacks on civilians inside or around the so called "buffer zone". Attacks on resistance fighters, or attacks, usually airstrikes on civilians further inside the Gaza Strip, or along the Egypt border (apart from the eastern areas such as Al Shoka or the airport area) are usually not mentioned. For the attacks of the Israeli Navy see http://fishingunderfire.blogspot.com/