Israel opens inquiries of protest deaths

GENEVA — Israeli authorities have opened criminal investigations of the deaths of 11 Palestinians who were killed by Israeli fire during protests along the Gaza border in the past year, a senior Israeli official said Wednesday.

Israeli officials briefed journalists in Geneva to rebut allegations contained in a U.N. human-rights report issued last week. The report alleges Israeli soldiers intentionally fired on civilians and could have committed crimes against humanity at the border, where live ammunition killed 189 people and injured more than 6,000 in violence that began last March.

The senior official said full-fledged criminal investigations in such cases are opened if “reasonable grounds” of suspicion of criminal misconduct are found.

Critics say such investigations rarely result in prosecution of soldiers.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Gaza’s Hamas rulers have sought to use the demonstrations as a way to press Israel to ease a crippling blockade, imposed after the Islamic militant group seized control of the territory in 2007.

Israel has defended its tactics during the protests, saying it is protecting its sovereign border. It accuses Hamas militants of using the crowds for cover, noting that demonstrators have launched firebombs, flaming tires and incendiary kites across the border.