Israeli troops attack protesters

Israeli soldiers open fire along the Gaza-Israel border on Palestinian demonstrators protesting the Tel Aviv-enforced no-go zone, injuring one.

Ziad as-Sarafandi, coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Buffer Zone in Rafah where Thursday’s demonstration took place, said Israeli troops used live ammunition at the protesters, injuring a young Palestinian from Rafah.

The protests are being conducted every day for the past week. Gaza residents are demanding access to their private and agricultural lands which are completely sealed off and declared a “combat zone” by the Israeli forces.

Individuals entering the area are “considered a threat to the citizens of Israel,” an Israeli military spokesman claimed.

On Wednesday, a similar shooting at protesters east of Gaza City injured a 19-year-old Palestinian in the leg. The young man later died in hospital.

Two days earlier four people were injured, including a female solidarity activist from Malta who was filming the protests.

As-Sarafandi demanded that Israel put an end to the enforcement of the no-go zone, which has taken away at least 20 percent of the agricultural land in Gaza.

He further said that if the Israelis want to enforce a buffer zone, they could do so on their side of the border.