Palestinian gaza vics mourned

THE FAMILY MEMBERS of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces reacted in shock and anger a day after the region’s deadliest clashes in four years.

“He had no gun, no Molotov, a tire. Does that harm the Israelis, a tire?” Mohamed Abdul Nabi, 22, told the Washington Post Saturday after burying his brother, Abdul Fattah.

“He wasn’t going toward the Israeli side. He was running away.”

Fattah, a falafel shop worker, was one of at least 15 people gunned down by Israeli forces along the Gaza Strip on Friday.

The spasm of violence broke out amid mass marches organized by Gaza’s ruling militant group Hamas to protest the decade-old blockade of the territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the Israeli forces, saying they kept the rest of the country safe during the Passover holiday.

“Israel is acting determinedly and decisively to protect its sovereignty and the security of its citizens,” he said.

The Israeli military described the victims as “known terrorists with track records of terrorist activity.”

Minor flare-ups erupted Saturday as small groups of Palestinians threw stones along the border fence, drawing fire from Israeli troops.