Likud minister suggests dropping food, medicines, to ‘tempt’ Gazans from fence

Likud lawmaker Yuval Steinitz proposed Sunday that the government should “tempt” Palestinians in Gaza away from a mass protest planned for Friday on the border with Israel by parachuting food and medicines deep into the enclave, Hadashot news reported Monday.

The Energy Minister made the suggestion during a cabinet debate on ways to counter the Palestinian “March of the Million.”

Food and medicines could be dropped by drones or planes, Steinitz said, suggesting Israel pay for it from money it plans to withhold from the Palestinian Authority in the amount that the PA pays out to convicted terrorists and their families.

Furthermore, by showing generosity, the Jewish state would also demonstrate to Palestinians in the Strip that, while the PA cuts their electricity, Israel showers them with provisions.

The PA blames Hamas for an attempted assassination attempt on Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah earlier this month during a visit to the Strip, and Abbas has vowed to impose a fresh set of sanctions on Gaza and end all aid payments.

From June to December last year, Gazans suffered a 40 percent reduction in electricity supply after the Palestinian Authority intentionally decreased payments to Israel, which provides the service.

Israel’s security forces are gearing up for huge protests and are putting additional units on alert, out of concerns that large numbers of Palestinians might try to break through the barrier and rush into Israel.

Earlier this month, Palestinian groups announced plans for a six-week-long “March of Return,” including the construction of a tent city across from the Gaza security fence, and have called on tens of thousands of Gaza residents to participate in what they described as a “peaceful protest.”

The “March of Return” is set to begin on Friday with “Land Day,” which marks the Israeli government’s expropriation of Arab-owned land in the Galilee on March 30, 1976, and the ensuing demonstrations in which six Arab Israelis were killed. It is also, by coincidence, the eve of the week-long Passover holiday.

The protests will continue until May 15, the day after the anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, which Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe.

To prepare for the expected protests, additional army battalions, Border Police units, and dozens of snipers will be deployed along the Gaza border on Friday, in order to keep demonstrators from crossing, a military source said.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.