Israel defence minister claims there are ‘no innocent people’ in Gaza

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said yesterday that there were “no innocent people in the Gaza Strip” after his forces had killed 30 Palestinians in 10 days of protests.

There have been no Israeli casualties.

“Everyone’s connected to Hamas, everyone gets a salary from Hamas and all the activists trying to challenge us and breach the border are Hamas military wing activists,” Mr Lieberman told Israel’s public radio.

Israel has faced international condemnation over its use of live ammunition in the protests and clashes along the Gaza Strip border.

Violence occurred again on Friday, when clashes erupted as thousands protested along the border and nine Palestinians, including a journalist, were killed.

Mr Lieberman claimed the journalist was using a drone when he was killed, but two people who were with him on Friday said this was not true.

“We know that in many instances Hamas has used journalists and the media and the Red Crescent and ambulances to carry out terror activities,” he said. “Whoever flies a drone over our forces, over our soldiers, we won’t take any chances.”

The journalist, Yasser Murtaja, 30, had been known to use a drone for photos and video, but two journalists who were with him said he had not been using it on Friday.

Ashraf Abu Amra and Hosam Salem said he was a couple of hundred metres from the border when he was shot.

“He was using a normal video camera all day,” Mr Abu Amra said.

Murtaja was wearing a press vest while he was being treated. The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate said that six journalists were shot on Friday.

“The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by Israeli Defence Force fire are not familiar to the IDF and are being looked into,” the military said.

On March 30, Israeli forces killed 19 Palestinians as a protest by tens of thousands led to clashes and the bloodiest day since 2014.

Israel says it has fired only when necessary to stop damage to the border fence, infiltrations and attempted attacks.

Rights groups have harshly criticised the actions of Israeli soldiers, and Palestinians say that protesters are being shot while posing no threat to troops.

The EU and the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, have called for an independent investigation, which Israel has rejected.

On Saturday, the EU raised questions over whether Israeli troops engaged in “proportionate use of force”.