Israel kills Palestinian who damaged fence with axe

The Israeli army shot dead a Palestinian man who they claimed was trying to breach the Gaza-Israel border yesterday.

The military claimed he was one of two men committing an “infiltration attempt”. They also claimed that the two had damaged the security fence and were armed with an axe.

Soldiers fired towards the men and killed one, it said, without saying what happened to the second Palestinian.

Al Aqsa TV, affiliated with Gaza’s rulers Hamas, published a video of young men at the border, some of them using wirecutters to breach the fence.

They then approach a military post and hurl what appears to be a petrol bomb at it, before running back into Gaza.

Witnesses said one of the men was hit as he tried to flee. The body was taken by Israeli soldiers.

The video said the operation was in revenge for the death of Razan Al Najjar, 21, a female medic shot dead in Gaza on Friday.

The death brings to 125 the number of Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israelis since March 30, which was the start of weekly rallies to protest against conditions in the enclave.

Israel plans to deduct money from tax funds it collects for the Palestinian government to compensate Israelis living near the Gaza Strip for of arson attacks carried out during the protests.

The Palestinian Authority said the deductions were “robbery and cowardly aggression”.

Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinian government, which it transfers monthly.

It has previously threatened to withhold tax money over Palestinian actions.