Gaza: Two wounded in border clashes with IDF
Palestinian sources claim two Palestinians were moderately wounded when the IDF attempted to break up a protest being held outside the buffer-zone between Israel and the Gaza Strip
According to them the IDF fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the border fence in the Gaza Strip.
Troops allegedly fired at some 300 demonstrators who were protesting against Israel's destruction of farmland for its 300-meter buffer zone, an AFP correspondent said.
The IDF was "unaware of the incident," a spokeswoman said.
The demonstrators were marching near the border fence in support of Palestinian farmers, whose citrus trees they said had been uprooted to make way for the Israeli-controlled buffer zone that runs along the border.
"Israel destroyed most of our citrus trees... (and) still prevents us from importing or exporting any products," said a statement from protest organizers the Gaza Youth Coalition, a new Gaza group.
The statement deplored "daily Israeli attacks" against farmers near the border.
Israel allows "civilian access on foot to areas up to 100 meters from the perimeter fence for agricultural purposes only, and vehicular access to a distance of 300 meters," according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
After six rockets were fired at Israel, IAF strikes wounded a woman and four children near Gaza City overnight Wednesday to Thursday, medical sources said, with Israel confirming the retaliation attack.
Palestinian security officials said one of the strikes targeted a training camp of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
AFP contributed to this report
