Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian woman in southern Gaza

Dec. 22, 2015 4:15 P.M. (Updated: Dec. 22, 2015 7:36 P.M.)

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Tuesday shot and wounded a Palestinian woman with live fire when she approached the border fence east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, local sources told Ma'an.Medics said the woman had been working on agricultural fields when she was shot. She was evacuated by ambulance to Nasser Hospital.An Israeli army spokesperson said the woman had "breached the buffer zone in the southern Gaza Strip near Khan Younis."She said Israeli forces fired "warning shots into the air, calling on the suspect to halt," and when the woman "refused," they aimed at her and a hit was confirmed.Some 20 Palestinians have been killed in the beleaguered Gaza Strip since a wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory at the beginning of October. The majority in Gaza were killed during demonstrations at the border fence, while a 2-year-old girl and her pregnant mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in October.The United Nations has condemned the Israeli army's "excessive use of force, and violations of the right to life and security of the person."

Israeli forces shoot, injure Gazan farmer near Rafah

Dec. 13, 2015 5:59 P.M. (Updated: Dec. 13, 2015 6:39 P.M.)

Palestinians harvest a field of cucumbers on the outskirts of Gaza City. (AFP/File)

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Sunday shot and injured a Palestinian farmer east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, locals and medics said.

Locals told Ma’an that Israeli soldiers stationed on the Israeli side of the border fence near the Kerem Shalom military post opened fire at Palestinian farmers working on their land at the time, hitting a farmer in his twenties.

Medics at Abu Yousif al-Najjar hospital said that the victim had been treated for wounds in his left leg.

An Israeli army spokesperson did not have immediate information on the incident.

Israeli forces regularly open fire on Palestinian farmers as well as fishermen whose work takes them close to a “security buffer zone” imposed by Israel on both land and seaside borders of the besieged enclave.

Ninety-five percent of Gaza's arable land lies along the zone that is routinely restricted to Palestinians in the strip, making it impossible for many farmers to access their land without serious risk, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

On Friday, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 41-year-old Palestinian and injured at least 58 with live fire during a demonstration near the border fence.