Israel has accused Hamas of trying to carry out border attacks under the cover of large protests and said it will prevent a breach of the fence at all costs. Israel’s defense minister has warned that protesters approaching the border fence endanger their lives, drawing condemnation from rights groups that said such seemingly broad open-fire rules are unlawful. In all, 22 Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the past week, among them 16 involved in last Friday’s protests, according to Gaza health officials. But they stopped short of specifically threatening a mass breach of the border fence. Israel argues that Hamas could have ended the suffering of Gaza’s 2 million people by disarming and renouncing violence.

Source: Egypt Independent April 06, 2018 08:37 UTC