Israeli troops kill 4 more Palestinians as protests continue
GAZA: Israeli troops shot dead four Palestinians on the Gaza-israel border on Friday, bringing to 35 the death toll among Palestinians protesters demanding the right to return to their former homeland.
Gazans used catapults and sling-shots to launch stones at Israeli forces, and some Palestinians brought wire-cutters to cut through the border fence, ignoring leaflets dropped by the Israeli military warning residents not to approach the frontier.
The deaths included a 15-yearold boy shot dead in northern Gaza, Palestinian health officials said.
At least 100 people were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the officials said. The planned sixweek protest campaign reached its half-way point on Friday, which saw smaller crowds than in recent weeks.
As the numbers peaked during the afternoon Israeli soldiers called out warnings in Arabic over loudspeakers to anyone who approached the border fence. Black plumes of smoke from piles of burning tyres billowed over the area, and stretcher-bearers rushed to carry the wounded to first aid posts.
The protest began on March 30, and has seen tent encampments spring up near the Israeli-imposed restricted zone along the 40 km border fence.
The protesters have revived demands for Palestinian refugees to regain their ancestral homes in what is now Israel. The protests are scheduled to culminate on May 15, when the Gaza scenes would be replicated elsewhere on Israel’s frontiers.
NATALIE PORTMAN SNUBS ‘JEWISH NOBEL’
Actress Natalie Portman has snubbed a prestigious prize known as the “Jewish Nobel” because of “extreme distress” over recent events in Israel, triggering an angry backlash on Friday from some in the country’s political establishment.
Portman was to have received the award in Israel in June, but told the Genesis Prize Foundation through a representative that she would “not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel.” The movie star did not elaborate as to what had made her feel that way.
The country faces some international criticism over its use of lethal force in response to mass protests along the Gaza border.one Israeli lawmaker warned that Portman’s decision is a sign of eroding support for Israel among young American Jews.
The Jerusalem-born Portman is a dual Israeli-american citizen.the Genesis Prize Foundation said it had been informed of Portman’s decision.