Stop the bloodbath

THE black smoke that rose above Gaza on Monday and the number of casualties that climbed by the hour did not interfere with the celebratory opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem, highlighting the wanton Israeli treatment of Palestinians in general and Gazans in particular.

In the atmosphere of arrogance that has gripped the political system, bolstered by a sympathetic American president who has responded to all the whims of an Israeli prime minister who refuses to consider peace, it remains to be hoped that at least on Nakba Day, the culmination of the Palestinian “March of Return”, Israel Defence Forces soldiers will do their best to prevent more mass killings. It is their duty to stop the tens of thousands of Palestinian demonstrators who will descend on the Gazan border fence with means as non-lethal as possible.

A month and a half of demonstrations by people who were mostly unarmed has resulted in dozens of deaths and thousands of wounded Palestinians. During these weeks of protest, Hamas and the other resistance movements in Gaza refrained from launching rockets into Israel. No Israeli soldier or resident was injured. Israel, on the other hand, acted against the unarmed demonstrators with sniper fire, live fire that killed and maimed.

In the furthest place possible from the embassy opening in Jerusalem and the crowds celebrating Netta Barzilai's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, tens of thousands of desperate people without a present or future tried to cry for help.

There is no dispute over Israel's right to defend its border, but this does not mean it has the right to do whatever it pleases to those who try to cross it.